Uneven
by BlueSqueak
Summary: Takes place shortly after UXM 423. Explores the relationships between Jubilee, Bobby, and the rest of the Xmen after her return from the dead. Completed.
1. Default Chapter

Feeling melancholy and somewhat lethargic, Jubilation Lee punched in her access code to the Danger Room, placing her palm on the flat square red screen above the keypad. She felt a familiar tingle as the machinery scanned her DNA. Seconds later, she heard a beep, then a loud whoosh as the heavy metal doors swung open. The air in the room was several degrees cooler than the air in the sub-basement, and she suppressed the urge to shiver as she entered.  
  
The wall adjacent to the door she'd just walked through had a small computer terminal built in. She held down a button and spoke the words "LA" into the microphone, after which she punched in another access code. Her voice sounded strange to her. Though Jubilee was known for her loud mouth, she didn't feel like saying much today. Strange, she thought. Must be the weather.  
  
Finally she inserted a CD into an ordinary disc drive that seemed out of place on the alien looking computer. She turned around to see that mats and some structures had seemingly materialized out of nowhere. A song was starting, and through the power of the sound system, she couldn't determine its point of origin. It surrounded her, and she felt strangely comforted. Taking a deep breath, she pulled off her Massachusetts Academy sweatshirt to reveal a body-hugging navy blue tank top that strongly contrasted with her white cotton leggings.  
  
Jubilee walked to the closest map, hurrying to avoid missing the song's chorus. Once there, she began her stretches. Keeping time with the music, she stretched her hamstrings, then moving on to jumping jacks, as her coach had taught her. She'd missed this.  
  
Finally, she felt she was ready. She approached one of the structures the computer had generated, a set of uneven bars. Getting into position, she took a deep breath and started at run, which culminated in her jumping and grabbing the lowest bar.  
  
As she put herself through the motions, Jubilee couldn't help but remember back in LA, when her life consisted of nothing but the gym. Her parents, devastated when their child brought home only average grades, had been ecstatic to find that she had some sort of talent, some sort of gift that they could help her develop. Actually, her Phys. Ed. teacher discovered her. She'd recommended a coach who trained with young beginner girls.  
  
Jubilee loved the attention she got during sessions. Out of her group of ten girls, she learned splits and jumps and stretches the fastest. Her parents would sometimes sit in during class, and she'd be sure to throw in an extra move in the hopes of seeing their faces beam. She didn't always get what she wanted, but every so often. Eventually, Coach Jacobs asked her parents to stay after class. He told them that the group was holding Jubilation back. Their child, he continued, had real talent, and would definitely benefit from individual training sessions. And Jubilee felt her heart swell with satisfaction from his words and the proud expressions her parents wore.  
  
Individual coaching was more expensive, but they would consider no other option now that the opportunity was before them. Jubilee attended classes five days a week. Eventually she began competing and won almost every tournament she entered. Her workouts became much more challenging, and she loved it. The local paper reported that her performance was as bright as the Fourth of July. By the age of 9, she was regarded as the area's newest Olympic hopeful.  
  
At age 10 her parents died in a car accident that wasn't an accident at all.  
  
Having no other family, Jubilee became a ward of the state. At the halfway house she was sent to, she searched for the gymnasium for almost an hour, until a social worker, Miss Lyonns, found her and informed her that the home had no such facility. She recommended that Jubilee use the gym at school. Then Miss Lyonns took away her privileges for a week for being in the basement without a pass.  
  
At her new school, the gym was just an empty room. The mats were torn, the worst holes having been patched with duct tape. She did some stretches on them after school anyway. A custodian found her and chased her away, reprimanding her for still being in the building. When she arrived at the Home an hour later (she'd missed the bus), she found that her tardiness had earned her kitchen duty. Her protests only served to ensure that she would repeat the chore the next day.  
  
She'd tried to practice some stretches in her room, but became the laughing stock of her roommates. Once, they cornered her and asked her if she thought she was better than them. Fed up and angry, she replied with a curt yes. Samantha, at 13 her oldest roommate, slapped her. No one had ever hit Jubilee before and she was rooted to the spot in shock, speechless for once in her life. Almost. She found herself sneering "What, can't take the truth?" at the older girl in a voice she didn't recognize as belonging to her. Samantha gave a sadistic smile. "I was hoping you'd say something like that!" Then she grabbed at Jubilee's hair.  
  
Though she'd never been in a fight in her life, Jubilee found it easy to duck into a crouch. As the older girl tried to kick her, Jubilee managed to position her leg behind Samantha's, and performed a sweep that knocked her opponent to the ground. The move was based on a similar step from her last tumbling performance. Before Samantha had realized what had happened, Jubilee grabbed her greasy ponytail and growled "Toldya" into her ear. She kept her grip on the girl's hair, using her knee to keep Samantha pinned. Finally, when she felt her opponent stop struggling she let go, kicking the girl in anger as she got up.  
  
She eyed the remaining girls, Samantha's groupies, who'd been watching the fight. "Anyone else have a problem?" she asked. No one would meet her gaze. Eventually Samantha got up, glared at her, and walked over to her bed. Jubilee expected to get into trouble for her involvement in the disagreement. She didn't. It was almost like a sense of honor among pre- teen girls. No one ran and told a counselor if there was a fight. No one would come to break up your battles. No one would come to your aid. You were all on your own at the Home.  
  
But by beating Samantha, Jubilee had carved a place for herself. Samantha was one of the oldest and biggest girls in the facility. She was the self- proclaimed leader of the Chicks, a gang-like clique whose mission was to make life miserable for everyone who wasn't a member, and for some who were. But after the fight, they left Jubilee alone. Jubilee returned the favor by keeping her wisecracks to herself around them, which was probably the hardest thing she'd ever had to do. It was probably that repression that caused her to mouth off at authority figures. That never ended well for her.  
  
As the months passed by, Jubilee began to miss gymnastics more and more. She still cried herself to sleep some nights thinking of her parents. Finally, the day came when she snapped at Miss Lyonns one too many times. The administration began to look into ways of getting rid of the young girl. Someone even heard Miss Lyonns shout "I don't care, send her back to China if you have to! I just don't want that little troublemaking firecracker HERE!"  
  
Samantha herself related this to Jubilee with a huge smile. Jubilee maintained her cool telling the older girl that she hoped an ocean between them would help disperse some of Samantha's B.O.. Samantha flushed and glared at her. Jubilee glared back, unafraid. Finally, Samantha walked away muttering something about Jubilee and her feet.  
  
Though she'd never let Samantha know, Jubilee was scared to death of being sent away. She'd never learned to speak Chinese. She remembered how happy her parents had been in America, going so far as to name her Jubilation because they were so glad she was born in their new country. To her young mind, China seemed to be an awful place. After lying awake for half of the night debating with herself, Jubilee packed a small bag and left the Home forever.  
  
Sometime after that, she discovered she was a mutant. Later still, she joined the X-men. She even got the chance to practice gymnastics again. With a minimal effort, she was able to incorporate her acrobatics into her fighting style, just as she had in her battle with Samantha. She felt more useful for it. When she left the X-men to join Generation X, she found that the biosphere could even simulate gymnastic equipment, and she spent much of her free time practicing her favorite sport. She'd let it fall to the wayside when Generation X had disbanded and she'd moved back to LA with Angelo.  
  
Then she'd died.  
  
This was her first workout since Warren brought her back. She felt a bit rusty as she twirled around, leaping from bar to bar. When she slowed her pace to do a handstand on the top bar, she felt sweat seeping through the gauze on her arms. Her stigmata, the only scars from her ordeal (the only physical ones at least) began to sting, and she knew that the scabs must have torn. Still, she held her position.  
  
Finally, she allowed gravity to take its course, and started swinging downwards. Slowly, she began to build up momentum for her dismount. Finally she let herself fly, gracefully performing two midair flips. For a brief second, while she was spinning in the air, she'd thought she'd nailed it. When her feet hit the mat, though, she realized her miscalculation. She fell forward, sticking her arms out to prevent herself from slamming face first to the ground.  
  
For several seconds, she didn't try to get up, feeling more angry and disappointed in herself than hurt. Finally, with her lips pursed in an angry grimace, she rolled to her side and stood up. Small balls of light surrounded her clenched hands, belaying her feelings. Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths and then counted slowly to ten until she felt them disappear.  
  
Hoping for something that would distract her from the lingering disappointment she felt, she said "Computer, Scenario 3, Level 4. One student, Codename: Jubilee." She said this in what she hoped was a cockney accent. Giving the computer commands often made her feel like an extra in a sci-fi movie. To keep life from becoming too mundane, she tried to vary the style in which she delivered the command.  
  
Scenario 3 was a common program in the system that varied to match the total number of users. Although the actual sequence varied, it pitted combatants against armies of robot Sentinels. Within seconds, the remains of a futuristic American city surrounded Jubilee. It looked like St. Louis, thought she'd only been there twice and couldn't be sure. Keeping to the shadows and moving slowly, Jubilee began to explore. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the X-men, and they don't own me.  
  
Thanks for all great reviews! I don't really know how I want this to turn out yet. I'm just writing down what comes to me.  
  
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He'd worked out in the Danger Room for a few hours that morning. That was the little habit he'd developed over the past few months - a sneaky way to keep his secret. On most weekdays, the Danger Room was abandoned until about 7:00 am. Once in a while, though, he found the room occupied by Logan, and there were a couple of times when he narrowly avoided bumping into Scott. On those days, he made his excuses and headed back to his room. But most days the room was unused.  
  
Sometimes when the room was occupied he left the grounds. Until recently, he'd had a membership at the town gym, where he went to just get away from it all. And, hey, if any cute girls caught a glimpse of him putting his body through the moves and felt compelled to come over and talk to him, well, he could deal with that. He hadn't bothered to renew the membership when it had expired. He doubted that any woman would want to flirt with a big block of ice.  
  
Overall, he'd done a pretty good job of keeping his secret. Professor Xavier and Nurse Annie were the only ones who knew, and so far they'd kept quiet about it. That fact didn't stop him from avoiding his teammates. He was sure that a nearby telepath would accidentally pluck the information from his surface thoughts. He thought that Hank or Warren, or any of the others who knew him so well would just glance at him one day and know something was wrong. Or worse, they'd figure out what it was. Or they'd ask Charles or Annie, who'd blab his secret. And then they'd know. Everyone would know. And then ..?  
  
He didn't want to find out.  
  
After his morning training session, Bobby adjourned to the Danger Room's control room. He' been having trouble with a certain scenario all week. In it, he was dodging projectiles fired from guns on the wall, while trying to avoid a pit of lava underneath him. He'd been tagged every time. That was sub par, even for him. Finally he decided to have the room videotape his stimulation from this morning. His plan was to watch it and to spot himself. Ten minutes into the tape, he hadn't found anything wrong with his performance.  
  
At that point, he heard the Danger Room doors slide open. He craned his neck to see who it was, and was surprised to see Jubilee. He was no doctor, but he didn't think she should be training so soon after returning from the beyond.  
  
Apparently, Jubilee didn't agree.  
  
None of them understood why Jubilee hadn't healed completely. From what they had seen of Warren's new healing powers, it was kind of an all of nothing deal. You either got healed or you didn't. Except Jubilee. Hank had a hypothesis about that. He wondered if a part of her didn't want to heal, because of what had happened to Skin. Subconsciously, she may have been refusing Warren's help.  
  
At any rate, she'd been resurrected, but she was as weak as a kitten. She was hooked up to a nutritional feed for three days before she managed to convince the Professor that she would be fine without one. On the second day of her hospitalization, Warren donated another pint of blood, which Annie also hooked up to her. She'd felt a little better after that, but the wounds on her hands remained the same. She also refused to accept any more of his blood on account of it being "totally gross."  
  
Bobby was surprised to see her in the Danger Room at all. Back when she was a member of the X-men, she only showed up for group training. That was required of all the X-men. Skipping team training usually resulted in a daylong killer migraine for the guilty party. He knew about that first hand. Jubilee had suffered through two headaches before she had realized their source. It took another two before she actually made an appearance. The Jubilee he knew hated training. But maybe that wasn't the case for the young woman now punching codes into a computer counsel some feet away from where he sat.  
  
He turned away, not wanting to intrude on her privacy. He hadn't really talked to her since she had come back. It was strange. He remembered helping Wolverine pull her off the cross in front of the mansion. Heck, he'd probably remember that day until he died. He knew her. He'd met Skin, Magma and the some of the others. But he and Jubilee had been buddies once. One might even go so far as to call them partners (in crime). Seeing her and the others crucified like that felt like the Hulk had given him a punch in the gut.  
  
He remembered thinking that he'd never hear about her stint in the movies. She'd mentioned that she was planning to audition for a small part in a production the only time she'd spoken to him after heading west. Then she died. Then Warren resurrected her. And he still hadn't heard about her Hollywood adventures.  
  
He smirked when he pictured that conversation.  
  
"Hey kid, how ya' been doing?"  
  
"Broke a record. First movie star to die on a cross, and you?"  
  
"Oh, I'm just a big block of ice with feelings, though no one seems to notice. Thanks for asking."  
  
"Well, dude, great talking to you. I'll catch ya later!"  
  
Seriously though, it seemed like she was a little quieter and less exuberant than before. There were still times when he could hear her laugh or shout at someone from across the mansion. Every once in a while, he'd hear the occasional wisecrack, several of which were directed at him. But those seemed fewer and far between.  
  
Once she'd put on her roller blades to get a gallon of milk from the store in town. She'd caught hell from Logan for that one. Apparently, he didn't feel she was recovered enough yet to make the trip, which was several miles long. Nineteen years old and the girl still couldn't drive.  
  
Or maybe the change in her was just that. After all, she was nineteen now. Of course she had changed from the young teenager who'd once gotten the Professor to roller blade the grounds with her. She'd become an adult when no one was looking. Maybe the grown-up Jubilee was just more mature, more grown-up than the girl he once knew.  
  
Nah. He didn't buy that for a second. He'd never changed that drastically when he reached adulthood. People still told him he was just like a teenager. Heck, two people had told him that yesterday alone.  
  
He was distracted from his reverie by a sudden motion in the Danger Room. He glanced to his left just in time to see her jump onto a set of bars (were they called uneven bars?). He didn't even realize he was staring. He watched her spin around the bars, using her momentum to leap between them. That she could do this was news to him. He knew she'd studied gymnastics before her parents died; it accounted for her unusual agility and grace. He hadn't known how far she'd gotten or that she had kept the sport up.  
  
He forced himself to turn away (it felt voyeuristic to watch her like that without her knowledge) and noticed that his video had finished. Darn it! He turned and reset it to the part that he last remembered viewing and settled back to watch. Shortly thereafter, he stole a glance at the observation window. He saw Jubilee hold a handstand on the upper bar. He wondered how she could do that given her injuries.  
  
Finally, she began spinning again. Before he could bring himself to turn away once more (he was pretty sure his video was near the end again), Jubilee launched herself into the air. She performed several spins before her feet hit the mat. But it didn't stop there. Her body kept moving, and she hit the mat with her arms out to protect her from smashing her face. She lay like that for several seconds, and Bobby began to worry. Just as he was about to go call for help, she rolled over and stood up.  
  
She stood like that for a while longer, head down, arms clenched, with balls of light surrounding them. The fireworks surrounding her hands slowly fade and she looked up. Not at him, but at a wall directly in front of her. In the control room, her voice came through the speakers: "Computer, Scenario 3, Level 4. One student, Codename: Jubilee" and he briefly wondered what was wrong with it. Then the stimulation began and Jubilee hid in the shadows of a holographic building.  
  
Finally free to concentrate on his tape, Bobby turned away. 


	3. Chapter 3

Again, thanks, for the great reviews. I still don't quite know where this is going or if it will turn out to be Bobby/Jubilee or not. I guess I'm mostly planning on chronicling behind the scenes UXM for now (since the book seems to be ignoring all of my favorite characters).  
  
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After finishing her workout that morning, Jubilee headed upstairs to shower and to change her clothes. She applied new bandages to her hands, since some blood had seeped through her old ones. Afterwards, making her way downstairs for a quick snack, she passed Emma. Neither woman acknowledged the other. Jubilee was too used to this behavior from her former headmistress to be hurt by it. Emma hadn't said one word to her since her return to the mansion. Hadn't even acknowledged her existence. Jubilee wasn't sure what she had done to earn her disregard, but it didn't matter. Truth be told, the woman had always creeped her out, even during the days of Generation X.  
  
She bumped into Paige in the mansion's large living room. "She's ignoring you too?" asked Paige, nodding towards Emma's retreating figure.  
  
"Yeah, since I got back. I guess that she doesn't have enough time to spend on both her old and new students. What with coordinating her underwear and all." Then, in a petulant voice that sounded nothing like Emma's, Jubilee added, "Hmmm. do I feel skimpy or slutty today?"  
  
Paige giggled and asked, "Is there a difference. With her I mean?"  
  
"You're asking me about Emma's lingerie?"  
  
"Well, no, I ." she trailed off, noticing the grin forming on Jubilee's face. "You're just teasing me now!"  
  
"But it's so easy!"  
  
Paige playfully smacked her arm, and Jubilee chose not to retaliate. Since she'd come back, Paige had been treating her like a long lost friend and close confidante. The behavior seemed strange to Jubilee, who was used to Paige being a little superior and patronizing towards her most of the time. She just figured the older girl needed someone to gush about Warren to. And on cue.  
  
"Warren and I going on a picnic this afternoon. We've decided that the big oak tree by the lake would be the perfect place. It's so relaxing out there. Have you ever been there? Warren says it's really beautiful to watch the sun set from there. Can you believe it! Watching the sunset together. I mean, Jono would never have thought about something so romantic."  
  
They'd reached the kitchen. Jubilee quickly ran off to the fridge to pull out a container of yogurt and some milk. Ignoring Paige, who was still talking, Jubilee retrieved a box of Sugar Bombs from the pantry and a bowl and spoons from the counter. She continued to block out Paige as she poured a large helping of cereal and milk.  
  
She didn't blame Paige for being excited about her new relationship with Warren. Jono had been a jerk to her their entire time on Generation X. But sometimes, she and Warren were so cutesy it hurt. This was the third time she was hearing about the picnic.  
  
She'd found out they seeing each other while she was recovering in the infirmary. They'd both come to see her, Paige trying to hug her while avoiding all the tubes that they'd stuck into her while Warren stood in the background, telling how glad he was that she was back and asking if there was anything else he could do. While Paige left to go get her flowers, Jubilee thanked Warren for bringing her back. His face fell at that, and he apologized for not being able to save Skin and the others. She her insides clutch at the mention of Angelo. Nonetheless, she reassured him that he'd done all that he could. Apparently, it was just Angelo's time. She was surprised at the effects her words had on him. He seemed comforted and at ease. She guessed that he was blaming himself for what had happened. X-men were good at doing that.  
  
Just then, Paige returned, carrying a large pot of Calla lilies. The way Warren had smiled when she entered the room piqued Jubilee's interest (she'd asked Annie about the two of them later, and the nurse confirmed her suspicions). Paige returned that smile and placed the flowers on the floor, since Jubilee's nightstand was covered in floral arrangements. The two of them left shortly thereafter.  
  
Actually, the number of people who had visited her during the three days she had been incapacitated surprised Jubilee. Logan had spent most of the first day at her bedside. He spent that night sleeping in the chair next to her bed. His snores kept her up most of the night. She made sure that he slept in his own room after that. He still visited her often during the day, though.  
  
Jono had come to inquire about her health. After finding out she felt fine, he started complaining about how Paige had found someone else. She didn't know why he was taking this so hard. He wasn't nearly this difficult when Paige was seeing that rich guy at the Academy. Hunter Braun's grandkid - was his name Tristan? She made sure to tell Jono he was being a jerk. That didn't seem to stop him, though. It seemed that every time he found the two of them holding hands or talking or who knows what else, Jubilee was the first to know about it. Though she tried to lend a sympathetic ear, there were times when he was just overly malicious. Not being one for tact, she made sure to tell him so. He managed to ignore all of her very poorly disguised hints.  
  
Most of the other X-men stopped in at least once. Except for Emma, of course. Although Annie was officially in charge of her care, Hank stopped in often to check on her condition. Scott and Jean visited her, separately. So did Northstar and Juggernaut. She was surprised to see them, since she really hadn't met either of them. Another newbie, Mr. Xorn, appeared at her door once when no one was around. He stared at her for a while before leaving silently. Weird. Another weirdo was Lorna, who clung to Alex and gushed about wedding plans while Annie hovered in the background, trying to ignore them and failing miserably. Jubilee made a mental note to ask Paige about that one.  
  
Kurt brought her a rosary and a prayer book. She didn't really know what to do with them, but he seemed so sorry, blaming himself for what had happened to her, that she accepted the gifts without protest. Maybe that would put him at ease. The Professor came by at least once a day. She was glad to see he was walking again, but when she asked him about when he wanted to try roller blading again, he stammered and quickly left.  
  
She received a card signed by Storm and her team. The next day, a card from Remy and Rogue arrived bearing a California postal code. The biggest surprise was when Bobby accompanied Hank to one of his routine exams of her, carrying a dozen beautiful yellow roses. He caught her up to the current adventures of the X-men, while Beast took time out of his exam to interject several comments. Jubilee was glad he had found the time to visit her. Bobby was one of the few visitors who didn't try to blame himself for what had happened to her. Actually, that was pretty unusual for him - but she was grateful for it. Three days of trying to reassure people that they were not at fault had worn her out, and she was glad for the break. Bobby was..  
  
Stealing her bowl of cereal!  
  
"Hey, dude! That's mine!" she shouted, pulled from her daydreams.  
  
"I don't see your name it."  
  
"Check under the bowl."  
  
"What?" he asked. Lifting the bowl up so that he could see its bottom, he exclaimed, "Who labels their cereal bowls?"  
  
"People who live with cereal thieves."  
  
"Hey, I'm not stealing it, just borrowing. Wait a few hours, you'll get it back!"  
  
"Bobby!" shouted Paige, appalled. She had stopped her soliloquy about Warren when she'd realized something was wrong. "That was gross and totally uncalled for!"  
  
"Like that shirt?"  
  
"Bobby!" she shouted again, as Jubilee began giggling. "Look, if you want to be a dork, you can do it on your own time. We're leaving. Come on Jubilee."  
  
"I'm not done with my cereal yet!"  
  
"That's because he has it"  
  
"For now. I can get it back."  
  
Paige gave Jubilee a look she remembered from their days in GenX, the one that meant she was totally fed up and Jubilee was at least partially to blame. "Fine, you do that. I have a picnic to get ready for." With that, she left the kitchen, back rigid, long hair swinging behind her.  
  
When she'd turned the corner, Bobby placed Jubilee's cereal bowl back on the counter and settled into the stool Paige had vacated.  
  
"Figured I save you from the 'Warren is so great' speech."  
  
"Actually, I stopped listening two sentences in," replied Jubilee. "But thanks for keeping her from finding that out," she smiled.  
  
"Anytime, Jubes. Anyway, I've gotta run."  
  
"Where're you going?"  
  
"Professor says it's my turn to do the grocery shopping. He's gonna be sorry he remembered," Bobby said gleefully. Jubilee couldn't imagine what the Professor was thinking when he made that suggestion.  
  
"Hold on, I'll come with you."  
  
The suggestion seemed to make Bobby uneasy. "Come with me?"  
  
"Yeah, I haven't been in town since I got back. Plus, I've got nothing to wear. Most of my stuff is in LA, and we're not flying out there for another couple of weeks. The stuff I left here doesn't fit me anymore, the attic is full of scary eighties clothes, and no one here is my size." She neglected to mention that she needed something to wear to Lorna's bridal shower and bachelorette party, since she'd noticed that was a sore point for him. "And, if you're the one who's doing the grocery shopping, I'd like to at least buy something I can eat while everyone else starves."  
  
"Oh. Umm, alright, when will you be ready."  
  
"Just let me finish my breakfast."  
  
"Umm, okay. I'll meet you in the garage." With that, Bobby left the kitchen.  
  
Seconds later he heard her shout, "Dude, you froze my milk!" He chuckled and began searching for his car keys. 


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry about the delay in posting - finals really stink.  
  
Thank you guys for the great reviews! I'm always open to input. I'm glad to see some people like my story. Hopefully, I'll have more of a chance to work on it over break (or not, what with all the sleeping I plan to do ( !!)  
  
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Bobby's POV  
  
I found my car keys and wallet in the pocket of a pair of jeans that I had worn yesterday. Luckily, I hadn't sent them down to be washed yet. Taking a deep breath, I opened my door and made my way outside. Maybe she had changed her mind. Scratch that. Jubilee, change her mind about shopping? Maybe she had found someone else to take her. I really didn't feel like spending the day with her. Actually, I did. I did want to catch up with her, plan some pranks, heck, even do some shopping for myself. But I didn't want her to spend time with me. Maybe she would be the one to finally figure out I was becoming a solid block of ice. What the heck was wrong with me, anyway? I couldn't turn back. Why couldn't I turn back? How deep was that patch on my chest? Was my heart a beating, cold chunk of ice?  
  
I shook my head to clear it of those thoughts. They didn't go away, exactly, but they did quiet down somewhat. When I got to the garage, Jubilee was sitting on the hood of my car. How had she finished her frozen cereal in that short time? I wondered. The cereal bar wrapper she was holding answered my question.  
  
"Cool, there you are!" she exclaimed, jumping off of my car and approaching the passenger door.  
  
"Cool as a cucumber," I replied. How true, how true. "So what's the plan," I asked her.  
  
"Why don't we hit the mall first, and afterwards, we can go grocery shopping."  
  
"Oh, so now I get to go to the mall?"  
  
"Well, I want to go grocery shopping too, and I know I'll need help carrying all my stuff," she smiled sweetly.  
  
"Fine, fine, we'll do it your way," I said, opening the door for her. She got in, being careful to remove the whoopee cushion under the seat cover first, and tossing it in the back. She reached over and opened the driver's side door for me.  
  
"How'd you know about that?" I asked, getting in and starting the car.  
  
"Paige warned me. You did give her a ride to the beauty salon once, right?"  
  
"Yeah. Guess that means you know about the itching powder on the doorframe, right?"  
  
"I do now. Thanks for the warning," she said, moving as far towards my side as her seatbelt would allow.  
  
"Darn it. That's what I get for not keeping my big mouth shut." I said, pulling the car out of the gates in front of the mansion and turning towards town.  
  
"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, she spent that whole night agonizing over where the rash on her arm had come from. She thought she was dying of some horrible disease."  
  
I couldn't help laughing at that. Trust Jubilee to make me feel better. She seemed to have that gift. Even when she was a young teen, she would listen to your problems for hours on end, and say the one thing that would either resolve them or make you temporarily forget about them. That ability seemed to have grown with her. Maybe that was her second mutation - a weird form of empathy. Right then, I considered telling her about my problem just to see what she had to say about it. The thought only lasted a second. I couldn't let anyone know. I'd gone to so many lengths to hide it, and here I was considering blabbing to the young girl sitting besides me. What was wrong with me?  
  
A silence descended upon the car as I drove towards the town's shopping center. Jubilee refused to call it a mall. "Malls have more than twenty five stores," I'd heard her say often enough.  
  
"Professor Xavier asked me to rejoin the X-men," she blurted out, breaking the silence.  
  
"Hey that's great! Did you accept?" I asked.  
  
A pause, then, "Yeah, I did."  
  
"Well that's wonderful. Glad to have you back," I said, taking my eyes off the road to glance her way.  
  
"Thanks. I was kinda surprised. I thought he was gonna ask me to enroll in the school when it reopened this fall," she said. Then, biting her lower lip, she asked, "Do you think I did the right thing?"  
  
"When you joined the X-men, you mean? Yeah, of course. If you could do it when you were only thirteen and barely trained, you're gonna be great at it now that you're older and more experienced."  
  
"But I spent the last couple of years living a somewhat normal life. I almost never used my powers, and I definitely didn't train."  
  
"And I went away to college to get my degree. Scott went off to find himself after Jeanie died. Kitty's in college now. We've all taken time off at some point. But there's just some things you never forget. You're powers are still there, and you know how to use them. And I really don't think you have to worry much about your training. You've kept in shape."  
  
"How would you know that?" she asked me.  
  
I took a deep breath, unsure if I should fess up or not. Finally, I decided that I had done nothing wrong and had no reason to feel guilty. "I saw you in the Danger Room this morning," I confessed, "I was upstairs in the control room. You did great."  
  
She looked at me and for a second, I was worried she'd call me out for spying on her. Then, she just smiled and said, "Thanks. The Professor also wants me to teach an intro to gymnastics segment in beginner's phys ed next semester, and I thought that I'd start practicing so I'd be ready."  
  
"You didn't look like you needed any practice," I said, before realizing it sounded stalkerish. "I mean you seemed like you knew what you were doing."  
  
"Well, I'm glad you liked it. I used to be a lot better," she told me. "Hopefully, some practice will help me get back in shape."  
  
I didn't know how to respond to that. So I didn't. Changing the subject, I asked her about her time in Los Angelos.  
  
She was quiet for almost a minute, and I was about to tell her that she didn't need to say anything she was uncomfortable with when she began. Her voice sounded small and far away, lacking the exuberant undertone that seems to define Jubilee. "Well," she responded, gazing out her window, "Some of it was just like I remembered. The weather was perfect and the people were beautiful." She took a breath. " But there was a ton of stuff I didn't remember, or maybe I'd blocked out. We lived in a working class area, and I can remember hearing shooting going on across the street. And sirens. They woke me up at least once a week." Pausing, she stole a glance at me before returning her attention to the window. "When I was younger, all I lived for was fun. Even when I was out on the street, I don't know, it was almost like a game or a huge adventure. I guess I've grown up since then."  
  
She continued staring ahead for a few more seconds, perhaps reflecting on what she had just said. I remained silent, mostly because I was unsure of what to say. Then she turned towards me and continued, "Rent out there is outrageous. Emma set up a trust fund for us when we got there. It covered most of the utilities and groceries, but both Angelo and I had to find jobs. He worked at a fast food joint, and I tried to make it in the movies."  
  
"Yeah," I replied, glad for a change in subject matter. "I remember you mentioned that. How'd that work out?"  
  
She gave a rueful smirk, "Well, it wasn't all it's cracked up to be. Mostly, I got parts where they needed young girls for Asian movies. I'd got a couple auditions on my own, but afterwards, I found an agent. He seemed nice at first."  
  
"At first?" I asked, pulling into a space at the shopping center. It was pretty close to the entrance, and I was proud of myself.  
  
"Yeah, I blew a part, and he tried to console me by telling me that I could get much further in the business if I were more willing to use some of my other assets."  
  
"What!!!" I couldn't believe someone had told Jubilee that. Although I'd never been as gung ho about protecting her as Logan or some of the other guys, I could feel a surge of anger rising. I wanted to find the guy and freeze the living crap out of him. "What did you tell him?" I demanded.  
  
"Well, I blew him into the wall and collapsed most of the studio. Let's just say I was blackballed from the industry after that. Uncooperative, destructive and a mutant - three strikes and you're out. It could have been worse, though. I'm sure he could have taken me to court. But I did a background check on him and found out that he had a warrant out for his arrest in Nebraska for pulling something similar on a fifteen year old girl."  
  
"So what did you do?"  
  
"Well, ya know how Gateway has a weird way of showing up just when you need him?"  
  
"Not really." Oh, I see, I thought angrily. That teleporting little Yoda wannabe's playing favorites now. He can expect a cold present form yours truly next time he shows up.  
  
"Well, he does," she continued. "He made an appearance and Mr. Agent-Man mysteriously ended up in a jail cell in Omaha. I haven't heard from him since," she smiled triumphantly. Then she looked around, realizing where she was. "Hey, why have we been sitting here when there's shopping to do"?  
  
"I don't know, you tell me," I retorted, "You're the one who spent the last fifteen minutes talking nonstop."  
  
"Hey, what do you mean by that?" she asked, feigning insult. "Don't pretend you weren't riveted by my story."  
  
"Riveted?" I teased back, getting out of the car. "More like bored stiff."  
  
"Hey!" she exclaimed, opening the door and exiting the car carefully to avoid contact with the itching powder, "That was harsh!"  
  
I smiled and reached over to flick her ponytail. Her hair was much longer than she'd worn it before. The sunlight reflected off of it and I could smell her apple-scented shampoo. I met her eyes for a brief second. I'd forgotten how blue they were, or how they contrasted with her Asian features. She was wearing a midnight blue baby T-shirt, which just made the contrast more apparent. Her eyes had always fascinated me. Whoever said that the eyes are the windows to the soul must have had Jubilee in mind.  
  
Suddenly, I realized that I was staring. Breaking contact, I muttered, "Let's just get this over with," and made my way towards the entrance. 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-men and they don't own me. At least that's what I keep telling myself. _______________________________________________________________________  
  
Thanks so much for the great reviews. Like I said before, I don't know if this will turn out to be Jubilee/Bobby. It probably will eventually, but I think right now I'm mostly focusing on Jubilee b/c she's my favorite character and UXM isn't using her to her full potential (or at all). I threw in Bobby b/c he's another one of my favorites and I've always liked how Bobby and Jubes interact with each other. Or at least how they interact in my little world. Other X-men will make random appearances too. Anyway, keep the feedback coming. _______________________________________________________________________  
  
The shopping center had just opened when Bobby and Jubilee arrived. Except for a couple of power walking senior citizens, it was relatively deserted. Bobby took a moment to gather in his surroundings, and then told his companion, "Alright Jubes, I'll be at the arcade. Meet me in the food court at high noon."  
  
"Hey, what if I need help carrying all my stuff?" Jubilee asked.  
  
"How much are you planning on buying?" He looked worried.  
  
"I dunno," Jubilee replied truthfully. "A lot, I think. We won't be leaving for LA for another week, so I'll need some stuff to wear. Plus, accessories, bath stuff, you get the gist." She sighed dramatically and added, "Oh, my X-men spending account, how I've missed you!"  
  
"I think you've brought the wrong guy. Juggernaut would have a much easier time carrying all this. Want me to go get him?" Bobby asked, only half joking.  
  
"Nuh-uh. You're not getting out of this so easily."  
  
"And how did I get into it, exactly?"  
  
"Can I help the fact that I'm irresistible?"  
  
"Irritating, more likely." Bobby muttered, looking longingly in the direction of the arcade. Although it had just opened, the sounds of laser fire and gunshots could already be heard.  
  
"Look," said Jubilee, noticing his anguished expression, "why don't you head over there now while I get some of the small stuff out of the way? Then you can meet me in front of Diane's. Let's say at about eleven."  
  
Glad to be temporarily relieved of porter duties, Bobby quickly agreed and the two mutants headed off in separate directions.  
  
As Jubilee made her way towards the first store on her list, dodging the senior citizens, whose ranks seemed to be multiplying, she couldn't help but marvel at how different everything was. She passed by two vacant storefronts on her way to The Attic and she was filled with nostalgia. One of the empty spaces had once housed Underground Wheels, a great place to shop for roller blades and roller blade accessories. They'd also carried a large assortment of skateboards. The store must have closed recently. During a visit to the X-men, less than one year before the Massachusetts Academy had closed its doors, she'd bought two skateboards from there. The memory was accompanied by a pang of sadness. The skateboards had been for Everret and Angelo.  
  
Ev hadn't even lived long enough to open his gift.  
  
Jubilee stopped walking and took a ragged breath. It didn't help. It didn't help that she was in a mall that differed so much from the ones she had grown up with that she couldn't help thinking about Los Angelos. It didn't help that every time she thought of LA, she thought of Angelo. Heck, Angelo and Los Angelos - how could she not relate the two? But she didn't want to. She didn't want to think of Ange. Not yet. She wasn't ready to deal with what had happened.  
  
It wasn't that she was denying anything. She knew he was gone. She'd hugged his body, which was already well on its way to becoming cold and stiff by the time she'd been brought back. She'd held onto Ange and sobbed softly for what seemed like the longest time, barely aware of Paige's hand on her shoulder. Wolvie had been the one who finally pried her free and led her to another part of the infirmary while others discreetly took away the remains.  
  
She missed him so much. She wasn't ready to let go. Not without saying goodbye. She'd dreamt of him every night since her return. Sometimes they were just hanging out; she remembered being at the beach. Once, though, she'd dreamt of Angelo the corpse, returning from the beyond to blame her for his demise. The mental image of his rotting hand reaching for her, his face contorted into a hideous grimace, would haunt her for years. That wasn't the first time she'd woken up in tears since arriving at Xavier's, but it was the only time she'd been awoken by her own screams.  
  
Stop it! she mentally chided herself. Stopstopstopstopstop!!! She didn't need to do this to herself. Dwelling on what had happened wouldn't make anything better and would definitely make her feel worse. Besides the guilt, fear and sadness that accompanied thoughts of her former roommate, thoughts of Ange inevitably brought forth thoughts of Ev. Thoughts of Ev brought thoughts of her parents. She knew what would happen if she allowed her train of thought to continue in the direction it was headed. She'd seen so many people die over her short lifetime, and watched countless others suffer. She didn't want to recall them all.  
  
She'd been doing that all week.  
  
She began wishing that she and Bobby hadn't split up. Or that she had stayed at the mansion. When she had someone to talk to or goof around with, it was easier to pretend that everything was okay.  
  
Jubilee felt her eyes beginning to tear and angrily tried to blink back the hot liquid. She refused to start crying in public. She just wouldn't. But blinking wasn't helping. She felt the tears growing and knew that soon they would be too big to hold back. Frantically, she scanned her surroundings. The gang of senior citizens had moved on. Two young teens were sitting and laughing on a bench a few feet away from her. Otherwise, the building seemed pretty empty. Finally, she became oriented enough to notice the way to the restrooms and made a break for it.  
  
The floodgates gave way just before she reached the women's bathroom door. She pushed the door open hurriedly and ran inside, crashing into a girl who was on her way out. "Sorry" mumbled Jubilee, running passed. The girl, instead of getting angry (as Jubilee expected that she herself would have had someone run into her) cringed, and then quickly dashed out the door. Although this reaction would have perplexed Jubilee at any other time, in her upset state she missed the strange behavior and dashed into a stall, intent on retrieving toilet paper to mop up her tears.  
  
Jubilee left the bathroom a while later. She hadn't been wearing any makeup when she'd left the mansion, which meant that there would be fewer signs to point to her breakdown. No running mascara and the like. Her eyes were still slightly red and puffy, though she'd used wads of paper soaked in cold water to try to bring the swelling down. Her breath was slightly ragged, but she knew from experience that that would pass. The tiredness she felt was a completely different story. She knew she'd feel remnants of that for the rest of the day. Intent on forgetting her sorrow and possibly ease her exhaustion, Jubilee headed for the coffee kiosk she remembered seeing at the shopping center's entrance.  
  
There was only one person working the kiosk when she arrived, a twenty something girl with black and pink hair wearing headphones and reading a textbook. There was no line, so Jubilee just stood in front of the counter. The girl didn't notice.  
  
"Excuse me," Jubilee said, her voice sounding more confident than she felt.  
  
No response.  
  
"Ah-Ah-hem," Jubilee cleared her throat loudly.  
  
The girl glanced up and quickly put aside her book and headphones.  
  
"What can I get for you?"  
  
"Can I get a large iced strawberry mocha with extra whipped cream?"  
  
"Sure, that's $4.25," the girl, whose name badge read Eva, responded.  
  
Jubilee paid with a five-dollar bill, depositing her change into the tip jar. The jar was almost empty, and the three quarters made a loud clanging sound. Eva glanced in the direction of the noise, and then continued making the drink.  
  
"So, what are you studying?" asked Jubilee.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Your books. I thought the schools around here were on summer vacation."  
  
"They are. I'm taking a summer course in accounting at Westchester Hills." She noticed Jubilee's confused look and added, "it's the local community college."  
  
"How do you like it so far?"  
  
"Boring. Too much routine for me"  
  
"Oh."  
  
Eva continued her work behind the counter for several seconds before asking, "You're not from around here are you?"  
  
Jubilee was taken aback by the question, and paused before responding. "I used to be. Sort of. I'm planning on moving back in with some friends."  
  
"Why?" The tone Eva used was both derisive and shocked.  
  
"Why?" Jubilee echoed. "What's wrong with moving back here?"  
  
"You mean you don't know? Haven't you been reading the papers? Watching TV? Do you live in a cave?"  
  
"Um, not to my knowledge. My apartment was a mess, but I wouldn't call it a cave."  
  
"We're freaking Mutantville, USA now. Those X-men have come out and said they've been running some sort of private mutant school in a mansion a few miles away from here."  
  
Jubilee felt her stomach clench. Her emotions were a mixture of sadness, anger, fear, and something else. Disdain? Resentfulness? God, she hoped not. She didn't want to turn into the mutant version of the girl standing in front of her. She'd always tried not to let her opinion of people in general be spoiled by a few bad apples.  
  
"I mean, what if it's contagious? I don't want to be a freak. What right do they have moving in here without permission? That's why I'm taking summer classes. I want to transfer to NYU as soon as possible. I don't want to be around here any longer than I have to be," continued Eva, placing Jubilee's mocha down on the counter and staring at her expectantly. Obviously, the girl expected Jubilee to support her opinion.  
  
"Thanks," Jubilee said quietly, picking up her drink. She met Eva's gaze and held it for a few seconds before turning to leave.  
  
"Wait! Omigod! You're not one of them are you?" Eva called after her. Her voice was both fearful and hateful at once. Also, it was slightly on the panicked side.  
  
"One of them?"  
  
"One of the students there?" Sharon was almost hyperventilating. If there had been any other shoppers present, she would have been creating a scene.  
  
"No. No I'm not," Jubilee responded softly, then walked away without turning back. 


	6. Chapter 6

Bobby had never been to the arcade so early. It seemed to be the only place in the mall not populated by senior citizens. Although it was far emptier than he was used to seeing it, several of the games were occupied. The clientele were mostly teenage boys, though Bobby noticed two girls on the arms of their boyfriends. Though he had avoided coming here in the past few months, he was no stranger to the establishment. He waved at the manager behind the counter, who waved back. Bobby fed a five-dollar bill to a token machine and was rewarded by a waterfall of tokens, which he collected and pocketed.  
  
A while later, Bobby had spent another five dollars and had come close to placing in the top ten in Tekken. He noticed a new Dance Dance Revolution machine and gave it a try. He failed in the middle of his second game and felt his ears redden, suddenly glad that the arcade was relatively empty and that there seemed to be no hardcore DDR guys around. Glancing at his watch, he decided that it was probably about time to meet Jubilee.  
  
As he moved towards the exit, he spotted several people surrounding a new game he hadn't noticed yet. Apparently, whoever was playing was pretty decent at it. Bobby moved in closer for a look and saw that it was a shooting game. The person playing was a gangly teenage boy wearing a black T-shirt and sporting several zits. But what really caught Bobby's attention was the game's title: "Shoot the Mutant." The small crowd let out a cheer as the boy shot someone who looked very much like Storm out of the air. Apparently, the act had just doubled his score. Bobby frowned in anger. Although he fought the instinct to destroy the machine, he did allow himself to freeze atmospheric water surrounding the metal just inside the token acceptor on the game. He knew that the ice would distort the metal to the point where it would no longer accept change. He could only hope that the malfunction would be attributed to the manufacturer.  
  
Leaving the arcade, he looked at his watch again. 11:15. He was only a little late. Diane's was just around the corner and it took Bobby less than a minute to reach his destination. Jubilee was sitting on the ground, back against the storefront, hugging her legs close to her. Her chin was resting on her knees. She was holding a coffee drink which was only half finished. There were only a few shopping bags spread out in front of her. Her eyes had a far away look, and she had yet to notice his arrival. He realized that she looked older and more tired now than when they had separated, if that was possible.  
  
"Guess you didn't make out as well as you'd hoped," he said, plopping down next to her and nodding towards her bags. She jumped at his words, quickly turning towards him. She relaxed when she realized who it was.  
  
"Nah, not too much out there," she replied. "There's still a couple places I'd like to hit, though. Sorry, you don't get off so easily," she smiled at his dejected look.  
  
"Well, let's get it over this over with," he said, rising and reaching for the drink in her hand and taking a sip. "Mmm," he added. "This is pretty good. What is it?"  
  
"An iced strawberry mocha," answered Jubilee, who also rose.  
  
"I think I want to stop and get one of these."  
  
"Don't bother, you can finish mine. I was done."  
  
"Hey, thanks. Awesome."  
  
Jubilee shrugged and started leading him towards the main part of the mall. "I've still got buy a couple changes of clothing and some shoes." At his frightened expression, she added, "Don't worry, I've already kinda got a good idea of what I want. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours."  
  
"A couple of hours?" Bobby whined.  
  
"Just a couple of hours," she reiterated, entering a nearby store. Bobby steeled himself against what promised to be the longest couple hours of his life.  
  
_________________________________________________________  
  
The food court was buzzing with activity when Bobby and Jubilee arrived. Luckily, they managed to secure a table from an elderly couple that was on their way out. Bobby placed most of Jubilee's bags onto the chair next to his. Several of the bigger ones had to be put on the floor. He made sure to tuck them safely under the table.  
  
He couldn't believe how quickly the time past. More importantly, he couldn't believe that he, Robert Drake, had actually enjoyed shopping with a teenaged girl. Actually, that fact was making him kind of paranoid. He was scared that Hank or one of the other X-men would happen by and catch him. He could just imagine what would happen if word got out that he liked to shop. He'd become the official bag handler of the X-women. He could picture himself surrounded by mountains of shopping bags and wearing the official bag handler uniform. For some reason, the outfit resembled that worn by an organ grinder's monkey. He made a face at the thought.  
  
"So, what do you feel like eating?" asked Jubilee, settling down into the seat across from him. She'd lain down the opaque department store bag that contained her new formal dress into the vacant seat beside her. She'd bought it before they'd regrouped. Not for the first time, Bobby found himself wondering what it looked like.  
  
"Huh?" he asked, distracted.  
  
"What do you want to eat?" she repeated.  
  
"Oh. Yeah. Sorry, my mind was wandering," he said. Surveying his surroundings, he continued, "I'm not sure what I want yet. It all looks good to me. How about you?"  
  
"Cheese fries, I think. And maybe a salad."  
  
"Great combination."  
  
"Don't knock it till you've tried it."  
  
"Well, why don't I go get our food while you save our seats," Bobby offered.  
  
"I thought you didn't know what you wanted."  
  
"I'll just get something from where I'm getting your food. What did you want to drink?"  
  
Jubilee contemplated his question for a millisecond before replying, "Just water. Can I please have Ranch dressing with the salad?"  
  
"Only if you're good."  
  
"Where's the fun in that?" she countered, then added, "Thanks Bobby."  
  
"No problemo," he responded, turning to make his way through the crowd. Jubilee soon lost sight of him.  
  
She sat back in her chair and took a look around. The mall was pretty crowded for a weekday afternoon. She watched a young mother walk by, pushing a stroller. A child of about five years old walked besides her, whining, "Please mommy, I want it, I want it. Please mommy?" His mother replied, "No you can't. You only want it because Timmy has one."  
  
"Mommy, pleeeeeease? Pretty pleeeeeease."  
  
The woman chose not to respond. Apparently, that was a mistake.  
  
"Mommmeeeeeee" the young boy began to cry.  
  
"Jack, I already told you no. Keep this up and we're going home."  
  
"Mommmeeeeeeeeeee." It was becoming pretty obvious to Jubilee that a tantrum was about to rear its ugly head.  
  
"God, I hope we don't have one of those," said a familiar voice across from her.  
  
"Don't worry, our children will be perfect in everyway," responded a masculine voice, also nearby. The comment had a sarcastic hint to it.  
  
Jubilee drew her attention away from Jack's fit of temper and saw Alex and Lorna standing across from her.  
  
"Oh, hey guys," she greeted them. "What're you doing here?"  
  
"Just picking up a couple last minute things for the wedding," responded Lorna, sitting down into Bobby's seat. "You know how it is. You always forget something."  
  
"Well, I've never really planned a wedding before, so I wouldn't know. But I'll take you're word on it," Jubilee replied.  
  
"How about you?" Alex asked. "What are you up to?"  
  
"Like I need a reason to go the mall."  
  
"Well, you sure got a lot of stuff for someone not looking for anything in particular."  
  
"Yeah, I know." Jubilee gestured at the shopping bag next to her and said to Lorna, "I got something to wear to your bachelorette party. Are you sure it's okay if I come."  
  
"Of course. Why wouldn't it be?"  
  
"Y'know, that whole under twenty one thing might mess up your plans."  
  
"Oh, don't worry, we'll find a way around that," Lorna smiled.  
  
"Are you here by yourself?" asked Alex, obviously trying to change the subject.  
  
Jubilee was about to respond, but she was interrupted by a cool voice that said, "No she's not. She's here with me." Alex turned around to see who was addressing him. He saw Bobby standing behind him, holding a rather overloaded tray of food. Lorna noticed this and removed her purse from the table so that Bobby had room to set down his load. However, she made no move to rise from his chair.  
  
"Wow, Bobby. You're the last guy I'd expected to find here," Alex said, moving so that he was no longer blocking Bobby's access to the table.  
  
"I've always thought that you hated shopping," commented Lorna as Bobby put the food down.  
  
"It's my fault. I dragged him out here," Jubilee tried to explain on her friend's behalf. "I needed a ride, and he's the first person I could find."  
  
"Yeah, I'm a regular Good Samaritan," Bobby said. Although he smiled as he said this, Jubilee noticed that the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Someone should give me a prize. Or shoot me."  
  
"Anyway," Alex said after an awkward pause, "We should get going. Miles to go before we sleep and all that. Let's go, honey."  
  
"Oh, all right dear," Lorna pouted. While Alex seemed oblivious to Bobby's discomfort, for a fraction of a second, it seemed to Jubilee that Lorna was enjoying it. "We'll see you two back at the mansion."  
  
"Bye guys."  
  
"See you later."  
  
Bobby and Jubilee began eating in silence after the couple left. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, Jubilee pushed away her french fries and broke the quiet.  
  
"I don't see why you're still upset about all of this."  
  
Bobby, who was in the process of raising a slice of pizza to his mouth, looked at her. She could almost see his eyes darkening as he realized what she was asking. It was scary to see that sort of a reaction in easygoing Bobby, but Jubilee refused to let it deter her.  
  
"I don't know what you mean," he frowned. His voice was curt and gruff.  
  
Yes you do, she thought. Instead, she explained, "Lorna and Alex. I know you and Lorna were together back in the day. But it's been years. They've been dating, like forever. You had to know this was coming."  
  
He glared at her for a couple of moments, pinning her with that not-Bobby stare. She almost didn't recognize him. Although she felt uncomfortable, she maintained eye contact. Finally, he looked away.  
  
"I don't have anything against them," he muttered.  
  
"Like hell you don't."  
  
"No I don't," he retorted. "First of all, it's none of your business. Second of all, I don't think you're in any position to criticize me about relationship grudges."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"You think I haven't noticed how you've avoided M every time she's visited the mansion?"  
  
Jubilee sputtered for a second. She hadn't seen the attack coming. "What?!! That's totally different. I've always hated M. Yeah, it hurt that Everett chose her and not me, but ."  
  
"But what?"  
  
"It's just different, that's all."  
  
"Yeah, right."  
  
"It is different. And it's in the past." she said, barely aware that she was raising her voice, "We're not talking about me right now. We're talking about you and your issues with Alex and Lorna."  
  
"I don't have issues with Alex or Lorna," he shouted back. "Will you quit hounding me?"  
  
She just raised her eyebrow at him.  
  
Taking a breath, Bobby said, "Fine, so maybe I've got some problems with the two of them getting married. I'd just rather not talk about them right now."  
  
"Why?" Jubilee asked. She tried to make eye contact with him again, but he avoided her gaze. That blue-eyed stare did something to him. It would have been different had he seen any malice or arrogance in them, but all he saw was compassion, and maybe some sadness.  
  
"It's just something I have to deal with. If you think I'm being too obvious about it, I'll try to work on that. But.," he trailed off. "I guess I still haven't figured out why this upsets me so much. You're right. I got over her years ago. Or at least I thought I did." He finally allowed himself to meet her stare, although it made his stomach do flips. "Look, I know you're just worried about me. But, like I said, this is something I have to work out by myself."  
  
"Fair enough. But if you ever need someone to listen, I'll be here," Jubilee offered. She gave mirthless chuckle, "Heck, like you said, I'm practically an expert in the subject."  
  
"I didn't mean it like that."  
  
"Then what did you mean?"  
  
"I .," he began, running his hand through his hair, "Okay, maybe I did say something along those lines. Look, I'm just kind of upset. Can we drop the subject please?"  
  
"Yeah, sure," she replied quietly. This time she was the one avoiding his gaze.  
  
"Jubilee, I really didn't mean what I said."  
  
"I know. You're right, let's just drop it."  
  
They both returned their attention to their meals, although the food seemed to have lost its flavor. 


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry this is so late. Vacation makes me lazy. Hopefully, now that I'm back in school with high speed internet, I'll be able to post more regularly. Until exams and projects start, that is. Sigh  
  
Thanks again for the reviews. _______________________________________________________________  
  
After they finished eating, Bobby and Jubilee carried her packages back to his car. They placed most of her bags in his backseat, since they decided that the trunk was better served for carrying the groceries they had to purchase. Although their initial plan was to buy food immediately, Bobby found it easy to coerce Jubilee into spending some more time at the arcade. While there, he was pleased to notice that "Shoot the Mutant" had a handwritten out of order sign taped to the screen. Both mutants were immersed in playing games and watching others play for several hours. When they finally did leave the mall, it was late afternoon. This time, they resolved to actually make it to the grocery store.  
  
The supermarket was only a fifteen-minute drive from the shopping center and their route took them right through the downtown area.  
  
"Wow," said Jubilee, looking around. "I'd forgotten how quaint everything was here. It's kind of nice, but I miss the hussle and bussle of the big city, y'know what I mean?" Her gaze settled on him with her last comment and she became conscious of the fact that she was holding her breath. Since their disagreement in the food court, Bobby had been pretty quiet. The behavior was out of character for him, and she was worried that she might have crossed an invisible line when she'd confronted him about Lorna and Alex.  
  
Well, maybe the line wasn't quite that invisible. More like blurry, or maybe perforated. Ahh, who was she kidding? It was as big as the Great Wall of China.  
  
Still, this wasn't like her. She'd never balked at broaching touchy subjects with both friends and complete strangers. Or at least, she suddenly realized, her old self never had. Now? What was that saying? Older and wiser? Which one was she? She decided that she didn't want to go there.  
  
At any rate, age seemed to have made her more sensitive. Or less ballsier. Tact. That was the word. She was developing a sense of tact. When had that happened? She wasn't sure if she liked the change. Watching what she said, covering up the truth with little white lies. Being discreet? That described Paige, not her. Gah!! She thought. I'm becoming PAIGE!!  
  
"No!!" she shouted. "I'm not Paige!! I'm NOT Paige!!"  
  
Bobby, who had just opened his mouth to respond to her previous comment, froze at her outburst. His expression reflected a mixture of bewilderment and amusement while his mouth moved wordlessly. He maintained that expression for a good ten seconds, and a part of her wondered how long he could keep it up. She never got to find out, as a car horn blared from behind them. They had been stopped at a red light, which had changed colors while they weren't paying attention. Bobby tore his stare away from Jubilee to glance up at the streetlight. Feeling hurried, he hit the gas pedal a little too hard, and both mutants were pulled backwards into their seats as the car accelerated.  
  
"What did you just say? I think I must have misheard you," he asked as he slowed the car's pace.  
  
"Umm.never mind. Sorry. Just thinking out loud," Jubilee mumbled. She felt her cheeks flush and tried to avert her gaze.  
  
"S'okay. I'm glad you've finally realized that you're not Paige. Warren would be really confused if you came on to him. Plus, you'd look horrible as a blonde."  
  
"I would not!"  
  
"Yes you would. And you know it."  
  
"Fine. You're right. I would," she conceded. For a while, the inside of the car was quiet. Jubilee couldn't imagine what Bobby must be thinking of her. Finally, unable to stomach her own paranoia, she tried to restart conversation.  
  
"So, how about you?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Does small town living ever get to you?"  
  
Bobby, who had grown up in Long Island and who had spent a good deal of time in New York City, nodded, "Yeah. Sometimes I like this better, but there's been a couple times when I can't sleep at night because it's quiet. Too quiet," he said in his best Elmer Fudd voice.  
  
"We should trade rooms. They've got Juggernaut in the room next to mine, and let me tell you, that man can snore. I hear him through the walls," said Jubilee.  
  
"Err.that's okay. I'll take your word for it. I'd take silence over big beefy snoring men any day."  
  
Jubilee was, of course, joking about trading rooms. One of the few nice things about her return to the X-men was that she got to stay in her old bedroom. When she joined Generation X, she'd said her goodbyes to her room, fully expecting never to see it again. Since then though, whenever she'd visited the mansion someone always made sure she got to sleep in her old bed. Twice, she found several boxes that weren't hers stashed in corners, indicating that someone was using her room for storage. It never bothered her. There were only a few boxes; they really didn't take up much space at all, and on each subsequent return, the boxes were gone.  
  
When students at the Academy had set fire to her room, she was comforted, at least, by the fact that her old room at the mansion was still hers. It contained very few of her things. A couple of posters, some stuffed animals she hadn't bothered to bring with her, the bed that wasn't really hers (it had come with the room), and some clothes that either she or her tastes had outgrown were the only possessions left behind. But now they were the only mementos she had left.  
  
On the drive to LA, Skin had ignored her pleas to stop by the mansion and retrieve her possessions. Upon her arrival, she'd tried to reach Wolvie to ask him to ship some of her items out west. He must have been on a mission or something at the time; she was unable to reach him. Eventually, she realized that there was barely enough room in their small apartment to house their current possessions, let alone items that served no purpose beyond nostalgia. When she finally got a chance to speak to Logan, she decided not to ask the favor of him.  
  
While living in LA, she'd heard (on the news) that the mansion was serving as a school once more. After that, she'd thought that her room would definitely be used for student housing. She wondered what would happen to the things she had left behind. But, once again, upon returning home (she realized that now the X-mansion was the only place she had that truly was home), she found her room waiting, possessions and all.  
  
While Jubilee was lost in her thoughts, Bobby pulled into the supermarket's parking lot. Unlike at the mall, he had trouble finding a decent space. He drove around in circles for several minutes before wedging himself into a space between a silver Lexus and a red Chevy pick- up.  
  
"So, how're we gonna do this?" he asked her as he carefully exited the car - he was on the Lexus' side.  
  
"We should split up," Jubilee replied. Being much thinner than her companion, she had no problems squeezing out of the car. "I'm guessing we're probably not gonna be headed for the same aisles anyway." His look of pure glee confirmed her question.  
  
"Why don't we just wait for each other here when we're done," she said, indicating a seating area in the front of the store. Bobby looked to where she was indicating and nodded. It was obvious that he was eager to begin shopping. "Sounds good," he said, grabbing a shopping cart from a nearby row. "I'll see you later, then." He ran off.  
  
"Yup," said Jubilee, knowing that she was speaking to herself since he was now out of hearing range. She too grabbed a shopping cart and began to pick out items. In addition to buying her favorite cereal (Sugar Bombs), yogurt and milk, she made sure to grab some grape tomatoes (Jean's favorite snacks), the brand of beef jerky Wolvie favored, Paige's favorite granola bars and Scott's favorite ice cream. She decided to pick up some Twinkies - she was sure that Bobby would probably buy a boatload, but she wondered if she would share them with her or with Hank. When she arrived at the snack aisle, she found it ransacked. Food and candy were all over the floor. There were only four packages of Twinkies left in the entire display, which, even more than the cluttered aisle, indicated to her that Bobby had already been there.  
  
After picking up a few more things, she went to stand in line at the check out. She wanted to finish her shopping before Bobby so that he couldn't see what she had picked out and catch on to her plan. She knew that he planned to stock up on his favorite foods, namely junk foods, and little else. Jubilee's plot was to stock up on everyone else's favorites and store them in the small college-sized refrigerator in her room. She planned to offer them to her teammates - for a price, of course. Ironically, the small refrigerator had once belonged to Bobby. He'd used it in his dorm at college, to keep up pretenses more than anything else. Recently, he'd gifted it to her, because, really, what does someone named Iceman need an icebox for?  
  
At the check-out, she paid with the Platinum Visa that Professor Xavier had recently given to her. The cashier checked the signature on the back against the slip of paper she had just signed and returned the card to her. She remembered being constantly asked for identification in her younger days because people refused to accept the fact that a thirteen year old had her own credit card. A few times, her purchase had been refused, even after she produced ID. She was glad to find that she was hassled less often now that she was an almost-adult.  
  
She made sure to grab a few bags from the bagger on her way out, which she used to better conceal the contents of her packages. Thankfully, she decided this while she was still inside the store, because she found Bobby waiting for her outside. He was sitting on one of the benches and was in the process of cramming a Twinkie into his mouth.  
  
"Dude, we just ate," she said after she'd approached him.  
  
"Nnuu eaeaing," he responded, with his mouth full of Twinkie. He swallowed and stood up. "Like, four hours ago. I needed a snack. Anyway, let's go."  
  
"Home?"  
  
"Not yet, I want to make a short pit stop first. It'll be quick, I promise. You'll like it."  
  
She considered his statement momentarily, although he hadn't really given her much of a choice. Finally, she shrugged and smiled at him. "Okay, I'm game." 


	8. Chapter 8

The sun was already beginning to set when Bobby and Jubilee left the store. The small town was enveloped in a hazy dusk light. Although many people enjoyed the half hour or so of not-dark that came between the day and the night, Jubilee wasn't one of them. She'd hated that period of the day for as long as she could remember. Her eyes never fully seemed to adjust to it, longing instead for either the bright daylight or the dark's heavy veil. It was as if nature was being indecisive, and that thought always bothered her. She pulled down her newly purchased sunglasses in an attempt to fool her senses into believing that night had arrived.  
  
On the ride to wherever they were going, Bobby tried to keep her entertained with stories of the X-men's exploits. She had to give him credit - somehow, his versions were always much more lively and humorous than Wolvie's retellings. Caught up in his tales, she forgot to pay attention to where they were going. Consequently, she was actually surprised when they arrived at their final destination.  
  
"The park?" she asked, "You wanted to come to the park?"  
  
The town's park took up several square miles. In addition to two children's play areas, it contained a decent sized lagoon, several long winding pathways and a miniature golf course. It also had three official parking areas, and several unofficial ones where teenagers could often be found after dark. Or so Jubilee had heard. Bobby was pulling into the largest of the paved lots now.  
  
"Told you it would be a surprise," Bobby said, parking the car. "Don't worry, there's more."  
  
She gave him a suspicious look, but said nothing more, for which Bobby was grateful. To tell the truth, he felt like a complete jerk for attacking her when she was only stating the obvious about his feelings toward Alex and Lorna's upcoming nuptials. More importantly than that, Bobby knew that Jubilee had just lost a good friend and was far more fragile than she was letting on. He was sure that his jab at her failed relationship with the boy who had been one of her best friends had done nothing to better the situation. All in all, Bobby was feeling guilty, and he could only think of one way to appease his conscience.  
  
They walked side by side down one of the park's pathways. The pathway was one of the park's older ones, made of cobblestone. That in itself deterred most roller bladders and bikers, who preferred the asphalt smoothness of the many other paths and streets that the park boasted.  
  
Although it had never been renovated, the cobblestones had been restored so that their path was relatively smooth. It had been a while since Bobby had traveled down this particular path and he hadn't noticed how romantic in was. Unconsciously, he reached for Jubilee's hand, and it wasn't until the last second when he realized who he was with and remembered that he hadn't had anyone's hand to hold like that for, well, a long time. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts instead, and willed them to stay there. Jubilee, still walking besides him, was oblivious to his near faux pas.  
  
"Hey Jubes," he said, surprised that his voice could sound so normal when he felt so embarrassed.  
  
"Yeah?" she asked, slowing down and turning to look at him. She was still wearing her sunglasses, although the last rays of sunshine had just disappeared and the moon shone brightly above them. He didn't mind, preferring at that moment to stare at his own skewed reflection than into her eyes.  
  
"Why don't you sit down there," he said, indicating a nearby vacant park bench. "I'll bring the surprise to you."  
  
"Oh, okay. Then I guess it's not bigger than a bread box," she teased.  
  
"Got me there," he responded. "But, then, for all you know, it is a bread box."  
  
"Oh, goody, just what I needed" she replied sarcastically, taking the seat that he had indicated. "Just don't be too long, alright?"  
  
"No problemo. Sit tight." He headed further down the path, and she soon lost sight of him."  
  
Sitting back, she took in her surroundings. In the time she had lived with the X-men, she had only been to this park twice. Both times were during the day, and she hadn't realized how beautiful it was at night. She heard rustling behind her, and turned around to see two squirrels searching the grass for food several feet away. Smiling, she reached into her pocket for the bag of sunflower seeds she couldn't resist buying at the checkout counter. It was still unopened. Not being one for elegance, she tore at the plastic with her teeth until she felt it give. She took out several seeds and tossed them in the squirrels' direction. At first, they were frightened; the smaller squirrel actually ran halfway up a tree. Then the older squirrel found a sunflower seed and began devouring it. His companion, hungry and curious, came down from his perch and quickly found his own meal. Jubilee threw several more seeds in their direction.  
  
At first, preoccupied with her new friends, Jubilee didn't hear the cries. When they finally reached her ears, she managed to block them out, attributing them to children roughhousing. She didn't know when exactly she'd discerned the word, but suddenly, it was all she could hear. The angry cry of "Mutant!"  
  
She let out an grunt, unsure if she should get involved or stay put. It wasn't her fight. Not everything in the world that had to do with mutants dealt with her. She heard the cry again, louder this time. Fine! she thought. Fine! I'll go see what the ruckus is about. Probably just a couple of kids playing cops and mutants or something.  
  
She dropped her bag of sunflower seeds next to the bench and made her way towards the sound.  
  
She began to doubt her initial assessment as soon as she got closer.  
  
"I'm not a mutant, I'm not! Please, leave me alone," cried one voice.  
  
"Sure you're not. Riley here says he failed history because you jinxed him. Gave him the evil eye and all that stuff. Now he's gotta do time in summer school."  
  
"Yeah, I hate summer school."  
  
"It's not my fault you failed," the first voice insisted  
  
"Oh yeah? Riley couldn't fail, he had the answer sheet. But somehow, Mrs. Millard changed the test. Did you tell her he had the answers?"  
  
"No! I didn't even know he did."  
  
"Then you jinxed him!"  
  
"No! Really, you've got to believe me, I'm not a mutant."  
  
The speaker was a young girl, who looked strangely familiar to Jubilee. Three boys who were about her age, although they were all taller, surrounded her. Upon closer inspection, Jubilee realized that it wasn't that the girl was the shortest; it was that she had fallen. Several books were strewn in front of her, and the boys had her surrounded.  
  
Jubilee didn't need to hear any more. The classic case of someone making their enemy out to be a mutant just to have more reason to hate them and blame them for what otherwise couldn't be their fault.  
  
"Alright guys," she said, approaching their circle, "Break it up."  
  
"Who're you?" asked one of them, "The hall monitor?"  
  
They all found this to be much funnier than it really was, and continued joking as she approached.  
  
"A PO-lice woman?"  
  
"A security guard?"  
  
"An X-man? Are you here to save the mutie?"  
  
She willed her face to remain expressionless. The closer she got, the more a few things became obvious. One: The kids were in their early teens, about the same age she was when she joined the X-men. Two: The boys were all taller than her. Three: They didn't seem to realize that she was a "grown-up"  
  
"Leave her alone, dudes," she said calmly, having finally reached the center of the their circle.  
  
"Sticking up for your mutant friend?" asked the one that appeared to be a leader. "That make you a mutant too?"  
  
"I bet she is a mutant. Who wears sunglasses at night."  
  
"Yeah! You're right. Hey mutie, you can't scare us."  
  
"Yeah, my dad showed me how to kill a mutant."  
  
Jubilee ignored their remarks, although it was difficult. She reminded didn't want to provoke them into a fight. It wasn't that she feared facing them. She just hoped it wasn't necessary. Also, she was worried about involving the young girl she was trying to save. Jubilee was unsure of her ability to watch out for both herself and the girl in a fight against three assailants. So, ignoring their jibes, she extended a hand to the girl on the ground, who had by this time, gathered together her scattered books. "Come on," said Jubilee, "I'll get you home."  
  
As the girl reached up, Jubilee saw an expression pass between the two boys she had in her sight. Sure of what it meant, she turned and ducked just in time to avoid being tackled by the boy she knew was standing directly behind her. As he passed over her, Jubilee grabbed his arm and rolled into a crouch, changing his flight direction so that he crashed into one of his friends. Both boys fell to the ground.  
  
"Ow, Justin!"  
  
"Damn it, Riley! Get your butt off of me!"  
  
Maintaining her crouch, Jubilee positioned herself in front of the now-standing girl. "Stay behind me," she whispered. The girl's only response was a small sob.  
  
Louder, Jubilee said, "I'm not looking for trouble. Why don't you guys go home?"  
  
Justin and Riley were still struggling to get up. One of them had a bloody nose, and it seemed that both boys were now scared of approaching her. Good. She turned her eyes onto their leader, who was still standing.  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
"What makes you think I'd tell you?"  
  
"Derek," she heard muttered from behind her.  
  
"Alright Derek, here's the deal. You and your friends back off, and my new friend here and I won't go around telling people you got beat up by a girl. Sound good?"  
  
She saw Derek's brow furrow, and wasn't sure it that was because he was considering her proposal or trying to figure it out. Finally, a glint came to his eyes as he realized he had a third option.  
  
"How about neither," he grinned, unsheathing a small knife.  
  
Jubilee eyed the weapon warningly. It was small enough that she doubted he could do much damage with it. Just looking at how he held it, Jubilee could tell he had never used it as a weapon before. She could think of four ways to disarm him off the top of her head; if she had more time to ponder it, she could probably think of five more. Her biggest concerns were Justin and Riley, who were obviously less afraid of her now that there was a weapon to hide behind. She was hoping to only have to fight one bully. Now it looked like she might have to fight all three. Beating up kids was not really her idea of a good time. She could just scare them off with her powers. But, somehow, the idea of using her mutant powers against a few pretty much defenseless teenagers appealed to her even less.  
  
Mistaking her strategizing with hesitation, Derek proudly brandished his knife, raising it so that it caught the moonlight. 


	9. Chapter 9

I've re-posted Chapter 8, for those of you who had trouble reading it. Sorry. Hope it's easier on the eyes now.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the X-men. ______________________________________________________________  
  
Bobby hadn't expected that it would take so long to get back to Jubilee. When he finally reached his destination, near a small but crowded picnic area, he found that there was a decent sized line leading from the small stand. Freddie's Ice Cream. Bobby had spoken to Freddie on a few occasions. He was an older man, in his mid sixties, who had retired after working for years as a truck driver. Retirement didn't suit Freddie, though. He found that, after years of solitary driving, he craved companionship. Mostly, he wanted to be surrounded by people. He himself was a divorcee. His wife had moved back home to Oklahoma after their divorce, taking the children with her.  
  
Freddie had tried to maintain ties with his offspring, but found that, once they grew older, they cared little for keeping in touch with their father. He'd only recently found out he was a grandfather; his grandchild was four years old. Bobby figured most people would be pretty morose after being recipients of such treatment, but not old Freddie. Just because he couldn't be a good father and grandfather to his own flesh and blood didn't mean he couldn't bring joy into others' lives. So Freddie opened himself a small ice cream stand in the center of McCormick Park. He made the ice cream himself, using old family recipes and adding his own twist. In the winter, when ice cream wasn't as desirable (To most people. When cold didn't really affect you, it didn't matter what time of year you had your ice cream), Freddie sold homemade hot chocolate and apple cider. His stand generated little income, but Freddie didn't mind. As long as he had his small pension to survive on, Freddie would run the ice cream stand for no profit. What brought him pleasure was seeing how happy he made his customers, children especially. When business was slow, Freddie could usually be seen talking to anyone who would stop and listen. That was how Bobby knew of his circumstances.  
  
"Hey Freddie, how've you been"? asked Bobby as he finally reached the front of the line.  
  
"Bobby! Long time no see. I can't complain. Stand's been busy, days go by quickly. Nice life, really. But enough small talk, young 'un. Can't you see I've got a line," kidded the old man. "What can I get for you"?  
  
Bobby placed his order.  
  
"Wow, that's quite a load. More than you normally get, that's for sure."  
  
"I'm sharing today."  
  
"Ahhh, I see. Anyone special?" Freddie winked conspiratorially.  
  
"Just a friend."  
  
"So it is someone special. Well then, I better make sure to give you a large helping," chuckled Freddie.  
  
Bobby didn't know how to respond, and simply accepted the extra-large waffle cones that Freddie handed him.  
  
"Thanks, Freddie, I'll see you around," said Bobby, struggling to juggle the ice cream and pay.  
  
"Yup, you sure will."  
  
He hoped Jubilee would enjoy the ice cream as much as he did. Freddie made some of the best ice cream that he had ever tasted, but he had never asked anyone else if they shared his opinion. Quit being paranoid, he told himself, making his way back up the path. You'd have to be missing taste buds to not like Freddie's creations. The night was warm, though every once in a while a pleasant breeze made and appearance. While walking, he applied his power to keep the ice cream from melting. At least no one could say that he was good for nothing.  
  
He noticed that Jubilee was not where he left her from several feet away. At first, he was more curious than worried. Where did she run off too? About three feet from the park bench she had been sitting on, Bobby noticed something shining in the grass. On closer examination, it proved to be a bag of sunflower seeds, only half empty. It had to be Jubilee's. She'd always liked to snack on the small seeds. Before he had a chance to ponder which way she might have gone, he heard a loud grunt from the other side of a small copse of trees. And Jubilee's voice. He couldn't make out her words, but he recognized her voice. And her tone was not a friendly one. Now he was worried. Still holding on to the ice cream, he hurried off in the direction from which the sounds had come from.  
  
He rounded the trees, and the first thing he noticed was Jubilee, standing in front of three men, each one larger than she was. It appeared that there was also someone hiding behind Jubilee, whimpering softly. The shortest of the three men was holding something that reflected the moonlight. Bobby walked slowly and quietly along the line of trees to get a better sight of it. He felt his heart skip a beat when he realized it was a knife.  
  
"Don't do something we both know you'll regret, Derek. Put away the knife," came Jubilee's calm and cool voice.  
  
"No way. I think you're just scared," answered the man.  
  
"Y'know, I've been reeeaally patient with you. This is your last warning." Bobby detected some agitation in her voice.  
  
"Oh. My last warning, huh? I'm scared." Without warning, Derek jumped forward, brandishing his knife.  
  
Jubilee was in the proper stance; she could easily have deflected the blow and disarmed him. But Bobby saw an opening and took it. Holding both waffle cones in his left hand, he jumped out of his hiding space and grabbed Derek's knife arm by the wrist, twisting it hard enough to sprain it, if not break a bone.  
  
"Didn't your mother ever teach you that stabbing people isn't good matters?"  
  
Derek dropped the knife with a cry of pain and fell to the ground. Spooked, his two accomplices turned and ran into the darkness, fear for their own lives overcoming any concern they had for their friend's well being. Now that he was closer to Derek, several things caught Bobby's attention. Firstly, Jubilee's assailant was a young boy, not the full- grown man Bobby'd assumed that he was. Secondly, that the knife Jubilee was being threatened with was much smaller and duller than he had thought. She really was in no danger. Basically, he had over-reacted and attacked a teenager. Not that said teenager didn't deserve it, exactly, but Bobby felt that there were better ways to deal with him than trying to snap his wrist off.  
  
Ignoring Derek, who was now clenching his wrist and rolling on the ground, Bobby asked Jubilee, "You okay?"  
  
"Yeah," she responded, though her expression was unreadable. Of course, Bobby mused, most expressions are unreadable when people are wearing sunglasses and standing ten feet away from you in the dark.  
  
Turning, Jubilee asked the trembling figure behind her, "Are you okay?"  
  
"Y-y-yeah. P-please don't h-hurt me," stammered the girl. Jubilee took a closer look at her, and was gripped by a strong feeling of nostalgia. She'd seen this girl before. Or maybe the girl strongly reminded her of someone she'd once known. No, that wasn't it. As was so often the case with these things, Jubilee couldn't pinpoint exactly why this girl seemed so familiar.  
  
"Don't worry, we're not going to hurt you. Are you sure you're okay?"  
  
"Y-yes. Derek and his friends followed me here. I know them from school. I-I think I just want to go home."  
  
"We'll take you," offered Bobby, approaching them.  
  
"No! It's okay, really. I'll be fine. I live just over there," the girl said, indicating a row of houses at the end of the park. "I was on my way home. Like I said, they followed me."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes. P-please, I'll be fine. Just let me get home. It's almost my curfew and I'll get into a t-ton of trouble if I'm late."  
  
"Alright. What's you're name?"  
  
"Lorraine."  
  
"Alright, Lorraine. We'll see you around."  
  
"B-bye," Lorraine responded. She began to walk quickly in the direction of her house. By the time she had reached the street, she'd broken into a run. It seemed that she was as frightened of Bobby and Jubilee as she was of Derek, Riley and Justin.  
  
"And you," said Jubilee, turning towards Derek, who was trying to slink by them unnoticed. "If you bother her again - and trust me, I'll find out - I'm coming after you. Understood"?  
  
"Uh-huh," whimpered Derek, clutching his arm.  
  
"Good," responded Jubilee, who began to walk in the direction of the pathway without looking back. Bobby spared one angry glare at Derek, who cringed, before following.  
  
"Well, that was interesting," Bobby said once they'd reached the main path.  
  
"Mm-hmm," responded Jubilee.  
  
"Uh, this is for you," he continued, thrusting her ice cream towards her. Amazingly, it was still intact. A gigantic scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough sat atop an equally monstrous scoop of Oreo ice cream.  
  
"Thanks," she replied softly, taking it from him.  
  
"Sure," he said, disappointed. He'd hoped she'd react with more enthusiasm. He'd never known Jubilee to show such apathy towards sweets.  
  
They walked back in the direction of the car in what Bobby felt was an uncomfortable silence. Though he tried to lighten the mood, she stifled his few attempts at conversation with one-word answers. He attempted to discern her feelings from her facial expression, but found it difficult to do so while she wore her sunglasses. Eventually he just gave up.  
  
Jubilee broke the silence as they were approaching the car.  
  
"I could have taken those guys," she said, deliberately not looking at him.  
  
Bobby paused, surprised at her comment. Although her sunglasses still masked most of her expression, he thought she seemed unusually anxious.  
  
"I know," he replied softly.  
  
"I'm serious, you know. I was purposely not using my powers. But I could have," she said. The words came out hurried and ran together.  
  
"I know," he repeated, finally realizing what the problem was. "Jubilee, it's not that I don't think you can take care of yourself. Or handle a couple of kids looking for trouble. It's just that you're my friend. A good friend. I saw an opening and I took it. I would have done the same thing for Rogue or Hank or just about any of the X-men."  
  
Although he hadn't finished his statement, he paused. Would he have done the same thing for any other member of the team? Or were his actions due to something else? Like the fact that it was Jubilee who was being threatened? Just barely back from the dead and still recovering Jubilee.  
  
"I had the situation under control, Bobby," Jubilee said, interrupting his thoughts. She removed her sunglasses and finally met his gaze. He saw her red-rimmed, tired eyes, and almost wished she had kept the glasses on. Those eyes now focused on her barely touched, though still unmelted, ice cream. "I could have handled those guys. I'm not thirteen anymore. Why can't any of you guys see that?" The words were said in a flat, tired tone, in spite of the emotion fueling them.  
  
"Jubilee, are you nuts?" Bobby responded in quiet disbelief. "I came back to find you missing and when I finally come across you, you're surrounded by some knife wielding kids. What did you expect me to do?"  
  
"Let me handle it."  
  
"Why? I mean, yeah, I'm sure you could have done a great job mopping the floor with those guys. But I happened to be there, and I helped because I could. Friends do that sometimes."  
  
She opened her mouth to reply, and then snapped it shut again. She seemed to contemplate his words. Finally, she said, "I'm sorry, Bobby. You're right, kinda. I mean, I guess I would have done the same thing if the situation were reversed. You know, me in the bushes, you going up against an angry bunch of kids."  
  
Bobby felt slightly elated at her comment. Yay, she doesn't want me getting stabbed! He dismissed the silly thought and listened to the rest of what she had to say.  
  
"It's just that, well, everyone's been so over-protective since I got back. I mean, it's as bad as when I was thirteen. Maybe even worse," she said derisively. "I've got good control over my powers. I'm older and more experienced. But now." she trailed off and lifted her hand so that she could examine the gauze bandages covering it. "Now, since I got these, it's like, I dunno, like everyone thinks that I've forgotten everything I've ever known. Like I'm just a helpless, powerless kid. Again."  
  
"I don't think that," he said truthfully, opening the car door for her.  
  
"Yeah, right," she responded weakly. She suddenly felt very tired.  
  
"Really," he said, entering the car from his side and starting the engine. "Look, if I ever seem like I'm being too protective of you, let me know. Trust me, I know what it feels like to be underestimated. But, Jubes, you have to realize that we just got you back. I know we didn't really talk too much while you lived in LA. I still knew you were there, though. Kind of, I don't know, a friend in reserve."  
  
"Yeah, I know, I felt the same way about you. And everyone else."  
  
"Right. But then, I step outside one morning, and there you are. Hanging on this stupid wooden cross, cuts all over, spikes in your hands. Totally gone. All I could do for you was to help Logan unpin you. Your clothes were damp, I guess from the sprinklers, and I wondered how long you'd been out there." She was looking at him with rapt curiously. Bobby swallowed, staring straight ahead, intent on avoiding her gaze.  
  
"We had to go in for a strategy meeting while Warren was trying to recover you guys. Don't ask me what we talked about. I really can't remember. I just sat there, thinking about how we'd never get to replace Jean's shampoo with bleach, like we'd always planned. And how, if I'd maybe gotten up earlier, or gone to bed later, I could have saved you. Then we came out, and there you are, leaning against your bed. We'd all thought it was impossible. Even Logan had given up. But there you were.  
  
"You can't expect me just to forget that morning in a few days. I know you're older, smarter, all that. But you were dead a little over a week ago. You can't expect me to forget that.  
  
"Back there. I meant what I said. I knew you could stand up for yourself against those guys. I helped because I could. That's all."  
  
Bobby's voice took on a faraway tone and it sounded she was hearing him through a wall. "But I don't want to live that day ever again. I don't want to see you dead. If that makes me, or the rest of the X-men, just a little bit protective, fine," he stated adamantly. "I don't think that you're incapable of taking care of yourself. I'm just, still . Well, I guess we're all still recovering from that day too."  
  
For a few seconds, Jubilee just stared at him. He refused to look back at her, keeping his attention focused straight ahead.  
  
"Bobby." She spoke softly. He still refused to look at her. He hadn't meant to say everything he'd just said. Hell, he hadn't even realized he felt half the things he'd said until the words were out of his mouth. It was too much information and he felt extremely awkward. His ears felt hot, and he knew he was flushing. Bobby was used to joking with his friends. He made light of almost every situation. Now, the conversation was serious and he had no idea how to act. Or what he was supposed to do. So he just kept staring straight ahead, knowing that he would feel that much more uncomfortable if he looked into her tired, all-knowing eyes.  
  
"I didn't know," Jubilee continued, not letting his silence deter her. "No one's ever told me much about, umm, you know, about how I was when you guys found me."  
  
Her only answer was silence.  
  
Normally, Jubilee would have kept prodding Bobby until he said something. She was stubborn - it was her nature. Today, though, she was too tired. It was all she could do not to fall asleep during the remainder of their silent ride back to the mansion. 


	10. Chapter 10

Wow – sorry for the lateness. School really stinks sucks this semester. Thanks for all reviews. ____________________________________________________________________  
  
Bobby parked his car in the garage, as close to the mansion's entrance as possible, since they had bags to take inside. He opened his door, got out, and closed it again. All without saying a word.  
  
Jubilee remained seated a few seconds longer, wondering why Bobby was being so quiet. Why was he always so uncomfortable with serious topics of conversation? Finally, she followed his example and exited the car.  
  
When she stood up, it felt as though the world had been turned upside down. Feeling the blood rush from her head, she grabbed at the doorframe to steady herself. She barely made it, dropping her ice cream in the process. Leaning heavily against the door, heedless of the itching powder, she tried to regain her balance. Bobby, who had noticed her stumble, rushed over.  
  
"You okay?" he asked, concerned. His worry causing him to ignore how ill at ease he felt.  
  
"Yeah," she responded quietly, although she didn't feel okay at the moment. "Just a little tired. And dizzy," she added as an afterthought.  
  
"Here," he said, offering her his arm. She took it gratefully, for once not trying to keep up any pretenses about her health.  
  
Jubilee leaned against him heavily and felt him put an arm around her back to help guide her. Slowly, they made their way into the mansion.  
  
"Do you want me to take you to the infirmary?" Bobby asked hesitantly.  
  
"No...just tired. Bed, please," she responded, not caring to waste her energy on forming complete sentences. She felt very, very exhausted.  
  
For a second, Bobby almost took her to the infirmary anyway. In spite of her assurances that she was just tired, he was worried by the sudden onset of her weakness. Ultimately, though, he decided against it, simply because he realized that she had every reason to be tired. She'd begun the day with a grueling workout, then spend most of the day shopping, followed up by a side trip to the park, complete with a confrontation with a bunch of bullies. Most people recovering from injuries of her magnitude would have been exhausted by just one of those activities. Jubilee had done all three. And he'd gotten so caught up in the moment that he'd forgotten that his companion wasn't at the peak of health. Bobby felt a wave of guilt wash over him. Never mind that she had just told him that she didn't want to be treated like an invalid. Never mind that she was aware of her own health status. He was to blame. Had he been more responsible, more sensitive to her condition, she wouldn't be in this mess.  
  
"My stuff," muttered Jubilee, drawing him out of his self-reproach.  
  
"Huh?" he said, momentarily confused. It took him a moment to figure out that she was referring to her newly acquired merchandise, which was still in his car. "Oh, that. Don't worry, I'll carry it up to you're room after I get you there."  
  
"Kay. Thanks. Good friend," she answered quietly. In truth, she was barely awake.  
  
Bobby didn't respond.  
  
At the foot of the stairs, she stumbled again. Instead of trying to guide her up the staircase, Bobby scooped her up and carried her. She simply rested her head against his chest and slung one arm around his neck. That she didn't argue, or even comment on his actions worried him. Should he reconsider a trip to the infirmary? he wondered, even as he made his way towards her room.  
  
Jubilee's room was in the middle of the wing. As he turned into the hallway, he felt her stir slightly in his arms. The action, even under these circumstances, filled his stomach with butterflies. He heard her mumble something, and he was barely able to make it out.  
  
"Cold"  
  
At first, he didn't know what she meant. Was she cold? He looked down at her, and realization dawned on him. Suddenly, he felt cold too (and that was definitely a rare occurrence). Her cheek was resting on the portion of his shirt that covered the icy patch on his chest. He hadn't felt her come in contact with it. Of course, how could a block of ice feel anything? Anxiety took a hold of him. He stopped in the center of the hallway, barely able to maintain a hold on Jubilee. His knees trembled, his chest tightened, and he felt his heart pounding in his chest. Or, at the very least, he thought that was what he felt. He wasn't sure if he even still had a heart. Maybe what he thought was a heartbeat was just more ice. Pounding against even more ice. Slowly chipping it away, until something just cracked.  
  
Bobby had no idea how long he stood there, in the middle of a hallway in a far corner of the mansion. Dreading what Jubilee would say next. Finally, after a silence that seemed to span hours, but probably lasted for less than five seconds, he looked down at the young woman in his arms again. She was fast asleep, still leaning against the ice that he had tried so hard to hide. Relief washed over him. Well, mostly. He was shocked to find that a small part of him was disappointed. At least, had Jubilee discovered his secret, he wouldn't have to hide anymore. For better or worse, at least his days of lying to his friends and eluding contact with others would have been over. Now? Who knew when, or even if there would be an end to all of this secrecy?  
  
He waited in that hall several more minutes, until his heart rate (if that's what it really was) returned to normal and his breathing steadied. Then, ensuring he had a firm hold on Jubilee, he walked the rest of the way to her room. Her door was unlocked, and he let himself in. He placed her gently onto her bed, and pulled the covers over her. Still worried, he checked to make sure she was still asleep. She was, and he left as quietly as possible.  
  
A million questions raced through Bobby's head as he made his way towards the infirmary. Was Jubilee all right? Should he have ignored her wishes and taken her to the infirmary? Would she remember feeling the cold beneath his cotton shirt when she finally woke up? The last question worried him especially, and he felt guilty that he was putting his concerns about his condition above his worries about Jubilee's health. Especially when he blamed himself for her situation. If only he'd remembered that she was still recovering from, well, death. Or being brought back from death. Something along those lines. He became so engrossed in self-recrimination that he almost passed right by the infirmary.  
  
Once he realized he'd reached his destination, Bobby paused to clear his thoughts. Although he didn't expect to find anyone inside at this late hour (and if anyone was going to be there, it would probably be Hank), Bobby knew it was not uncommon to find the Professor running tests with the equipment the lab housed. If Xavier, or any other telepath, happened to be inside, Bobby didn't want them picking up on his thoughts. Any of them. Steeling himself, he opened the door.  
  
For once, there were no patients recuperating in the beds that occupied the main room. Although most of the facility was dark, Bobby spotted a light off to the side. If he wasn't mistaken, that was the lab where blood tests were run. Quietly, he approached the open door. He looked inside and was not surprised to find a gigantic, fur covered mutant pipetting drops of liquid into a test tube of what was probably blood serum. He knocked on the door quietly, trying not to startle Hank. Though he enjoyed playing tricks on his friend, the last time he'd snuck up on Hank in the laboratory he'd frightened the good doctor into dropping his work. Bobby still didn't what the contents of that petri dish were, but apparently, they were important. Hank didn't speak to him for a week.  
  
At his knock, Hank looked up, and then turned around. "I'm not interrupting anything important, am I?" asked Bobby, once he knew that the Beast had seen him.  
  
"No, nothing that can't wait," responded Hank, carefully placing the test tube into a test tube rack and laying the pipette across a large beaker. "To what do I owe this visit?"  
  
"It's about Jubilee."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Well," Bobby began, "I took her shopping today. Nothing too stressful." That wasn't exactly true, but he didn't want to mention the run in at the park unless he had to. "We just got back, and while she was getting out of the car, she kinda, I don't know, almost fainted. After that, she was really weak. I wanted to bring her here, but she insisted that I take her to her room. She's asleep now. Anyway, I just wanted to double check that it was all right to not bring her here. Y'know, that she'll be okay."  
  
Hank's brow wrinkled in what Bobby recognized to be concern. Anyone who didn't know him would be frightened by the expression. "No, under the circumstances, your actions were correct. This isn't the first time that she has lapsed into an unexplainable bout of weariness. In the previous case, I examined her, and found her to be in perfect health, albeit exhausted. I'm at a loss as to what was behind her sudden period of fatigue. I assume that the onset of her condition was rapid."  
  
"If you mean that she was fine, and then suddenly, she was tired, then yeah."  
  
"As was the case in her previous incident. I'm examining some samples she begrudgingly submitted now. It shouldn't be too much trouble to run a few extra tests in order to determine the cause of her fainting spell. But in answer to your question, the chief thing she requires now is bed rest. She should be fine in the morrow."  
  
"Thanks, Hank, I was worried," said Bobby. Then, processing what his friend had just said, he asked, "You mean this has happened before?"  
  
"As I said, once?"  
  
"How come I didn't hear about it?"  
  
"Well, the first episode occurred while Jubilee was with Logan. He brought her to me post haste, which I have no doubt does not surprise you. She has asked both Logan and myself to not 'make a big deal' about her it. I believe it was her desire to keep us from worrying about her."  
  
"When did it happen"?  
  
"Not recently, if that will ease your concerns. The last, and as far as I know, only other time this occurred was when Jubilee was recovering here shortly after her ordeal with Bastion."  
  
"Think it has something to do with her being injured?" asked Bobby, both worried and intrigued.  
  
"Possibly. My hypothesis at this moment is that her condition is at least partially psychosomatic." At Bobby's confused expression, Hank elaborated, "I think there's something mental at play here too. That's why I am concerned that blood tests will yield very few conclusive results."  
  
"Do you think it can happen again?"  
  
"I am unsure. To my knowledge, years have passed since her last episode, though I am not sure what that implies."  
  
"In English?"  
  
Hank sighed. He hated that phrase. He spoke perfect English. In fact, he spoke better English than most of the mansion's residents, present company included. And yet, he always found that saying directed at him.  
  
"Probably not, but I really have no idea," was his terse reply.  
  
Bobby had more questions. What was the cause of Jubilee's spells? What would happen if Jubilee was alone the next time she had an episode? What if something happened during one of the team's missions? But Hank had turned back to his lab desk, intent on completing his work. Bobby could tell he didn't want to be bothered with questions he couldn't answer.  
  
"All right, thanks Hank, I'll see you later," he said.  
  
"Mmmhmm," muttered Hank distractedly. Bobby was sure his friend hadn't listened to a word he'd said.  
  
"And Hank, if Apocalypse comes looking for me, tell him to meet me in the kitchen, 'kay? It's poker night."  
  
"Yes, Bobby."  
  
"Oh, and Magneto might be joining us. He's supposed to bring the beer."  
  
"Mmmhmm." Hank sounded slightly agitated. Likely, he was upset that Bobby was still talking to him.  
  
Smirking, Bobby left the room. As he walked through the infirmary, he couldn't quite suppress the unpleasant memories the place recalled. There was the bed Jubilee had lain in while Warren's blood drained into her. There was the bed Alex had occupied while his consciousness resided in some other plane. Emma had occupied the bed at the far end of the room for months, years ago. Before she awakened in his body. The bed he was walking by now, the one closest to the wall, was where he had recovered after his encounter with Black Tom. The encounter that had left him in a new, icy, state of being.  
  
Suddenly, Bobby felt he couldn't get out of the room fast enough. He hurried towards the exit, slamming the door shut behind him. 


	11. Chapter 11

The sun shone off of the water, causing a bright glare that blinded her if she looked straight at it. It vaguely reminded her of her powers. This beach was all she could remember, all she could see. Somehow, that comforted her more than it worried her. It seemed that she and her companion had been here forever. The beach was home.  
  
Although Jubilee squinted in order to avoid the light, it had no effect on her friend. He sat on a beach towel, the skin of his feet coated in sand from the miles of beach surrounding them.  
  
"It's getting late," he commented. Those were the first words she could remember him ever saying. They broke through the peaceful silence of the beach.  
  
"What?" The first word she'd ever said on this beach.  
  
"The sun's setting, chica. Darkness is coming. I have to go," he said, rising. "My place is in the darkness now." His voice was monotonous and devoid of emotion.  
  
"Angelo, don't go!" she shouted, struggling to get up. It was as if the sand beneath her feet had turned to quicksand.  
  
"I have to," was his reply. He began walking towards the water.  
  
"NO! Come back!! COME BACK!! Don't leave me here by myself!" He didn't answer. She finally managed to stand up and tried to run after him. But the sand was holding her back, slowing her down.  
  
Skin reached the water and kept walking. The ocean, so calm only moments before, began to churn, and lapped at his legs greedily. He kept going straight ahead, heedless of the angry waves. His extra feet of skin, which he usually made a conscious effort to keep close to his body in an attempt at normalcy, began to loosen and float behind him. The effect was eerie.  
  
Jubilee finally arrived at the water's edge; Angelo's shoulders and head were all that were visible. The sun had almost set and the sky was darkening.  
  
"Please! Come back! Angelo, take me with you! Please! ANGE!" she shouted at the top of her lungs before running into the waves head on. Though it had welcomed Angelo, the water pushed at her and she had to fight her way forward.  
  
"You're place isn't with me, chica. It isn't here, either."  
  
Those were the last words he said before his head disappeared under the water and the sun finally set.  
  
Everything was dark. The sky, the water, everything. Jubilee fell to her knees. The water rushed over her; she couldn't breath.  
  
"Angelo," was her last thought before she succumbed to the dark.  
  
Jubilee awoke with a start, sitting up in her bed and gasping for air. Her cheeks were wet and her lips tasted of salt. Her breathing was irregular and her heart raced inside her chest. She opened her eyes and saw nothing. Panic welled inside her chest, and had she the breath left, she would have screamed. In response to the panic at her sudden blindness, balls of plasma formed in her hands. The light illuminated her surroundings and she finally calmed down, recognizing where she was. It was her room. Her dark room.  
  
Angelo.  
  
She realized the salty taste came from her tears.  
  
Leaning back against her pillow, Jubilee took a deep breath. Not again. She'd had another dream. Nightmare. Whatever. Her heart was still rapidly thumping away and her breaths were shallow and rapid. She felt jittery from her sudden adrenaline rush and sighed, knowing from previous experiences that she wasn't going to be able to fall asleep again, no matter how tired she was.  
  
So, she did what she'd done every time she'd found herself in this situation - almost every night since she'd gotten back. She decided she might as well kill time with video games. She was getting really good at Final Fantasy. She'd already passed Bobby, Kurt, and the small handful of students who'd stayed at the mansion over the summer.  
  
Jubilee swung her legs over the side of her bed and stood up, albeit shakily. Using her powers to light her way, she walked towards the wall and flipped the light switch. Her pupils contracted at the sudden brightness and she squinted painfully.  
  
A bright pink note stuck to her mini-fridge caught her attention. She walked over and tore it loose.  
  
Jubes,  
Put your groceries in the fridge. Your bags are in the closet. Hope  
you're okay.  
  
Bobby  
  
She opened the door and saw the food neatly stuffed away. When had he done that, she wondered? Why did he want to know if she was okay? Jubilee groaned inwardly as she remembered the events of the evening. Vaguely. She remembered the ice cream he'd bought for her. There was that encounter with the bullies. Her memory of the ride home was sort of blurry, though she felt that something important had transpired. And then?  
  
Oh crap.  
  
She'd fainted on him. She'd thought she had left that part of her life behind her.  
  
Her one and only other fainting episode had been a couple of years ago. After her escape from Bastion, Jubilee had experienced nightmares that had kept her from sleeping. She never told anyone about them. Shortly before she was to leave and rejoin Generation X, though, she'd fainted during a routine Danger Room workout with Wolvie. Wolvie had panicked and rushed her to Hank, waking the doctor. It took some serious cajoling on her part to convince the two men that she was all right. She damn near had to beg them to keep her episode quiet.  
  
She didn't want to worry them. She didn't want anyone to think she would be a liability. That didn't mean she herself wasn't worried about what had happened. The next day, she had gone to see a doctor in town. She'd paid cash out of pocket, hoping to keep the visit a secret from her friends. She'd altered most of the details about her experiences with Bastion and her nightmares so as not to reveal too much to the doctor. In spite of that, the old man, Dr. Bauer, his name was, had managed to come to a conclusive diagnosis. She was exhausted. Mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted. He'd sent her home with a month's supply of a prescription sleep aid with one refill on the medicine.  
  
She hadn't wanted to admit that she needed the drug, but she begrudgingly tried it that night. It was the first clear night's sleep she'd had in weeks. More importantly, she didn't experience another fainting episode.  
  
She took the medication with her when she returned to Massachusetts. Although she'd filled her refill, Jubilee stopped using the medicine after her first month's supply was gone. She kept the additional supply in her room, just in case.  
  
When Everett had died, the nightmares began anew. Scared, she restarted the medication almost immediately, using up the remainder of her supply.  
  
Jubilee hoped that Dr. Bauer was still in business. She resolved to call him later, at a more decent time.  
  
And she owed Bobby an apology for scaring him. More importantly, she needed to convince him to keep quiet about the spell.  
  
She looked down at the pink piece of paper in her hand. Writing on the back of it caught her attention. She flipped it over and read:  
  
Caught on to your little plan. I'll let you get away with it, but  
YOU OWE ME!  
  
Oh yeah. Her groceries. Bobby had put them away. It must have been pretty easy to catch on to what she was planning. In the face of her nightmares and fainting spells, the realization that he had uncovered her current scheme seemed insignificant.  
  
When had Bobby had a chance to put all that stuff away, anyway? She must really have been out. Curious, she glanced at the small alarm clock by her bedside. 1:30, it said in glowing red letters. Well, at least she'd gotten more sleep than usual.  
  
With nothing better to do, Jubilee turned on her PS II and loaded her game. She played until about five in the morning, when the rising sun's rays became visible through her window. Bored with her video game, Jubilee decided to put away the clothes she had just purchased and which Bobby had brought up. When she was done, she stood back to survey her work. Her closet still looked empty, but the clothes she had purchased helped make it look like someone used it for more than just storage. Her roller blades were propped against a wall, next to a pair of neon green roller skates she had found in the attic yesterday. They were in a box marked Kitty's Old Costumes. All she could say was wow. And she got crap about wearing a yellow raincoat.  
  
She glanced at her clock. Six o'clock. What else to do, what else to do? She'd written the lesson plans for the class she'd promised the Professor she'd teach a few nights ago. God, that made her sound so old, she shuddered. She'd already explored most of the mansion's ample storage space, finding anything from old costumes to broken weaponry. She'd changed the bandages on her wounds twice, once because she needed to, once out of boredom.  
  
Was there anything good on TV, she wondered?  
  
She watched cartoons until all the TV stations had switched to news programs. The time was 7:30. She supposed that now was as good of a time as any to shower. Granted, there was a team Danger Room session planned for that afternoon and she'd have to shower after that. Jubilee didn't see any harm in showering twice in one day, though. In fact, few things made her feel as good as a nice hot shower. Grabbing her towel and the caddy that contained her toiletries, Jubilee left her room. 


	12. Chapter 12

Again, I'm really sorry for not getting this up sooner. Things have been pretty hectic here. Anyway, I hope that this chapter sheds more light on Jubilee's grocery scheme. Thanks for your reviews and patience Questions, comments? Email or review.  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
There was one women's bathroom in her wing of the mansion. Recently remodeled, it could accommodate up to four females, although presently, only she and Paige shared it. Jubilee took a long, hot shower, enjoying the feeling of the warm water on her skin. Back in her LA apartment, there was almost never hot water and never any water pressure. And then there was the time that her landlord had neglected to pay the water bill. Jubilee shuddered at the memory. Two weeks of showering at gyms and youth hostels.  
  
Upon finishing her shower, she towel dried her hair, gathered together her items and left. When she turned into the hallway, she saw a longhaired blonde woman ahead of her. Undoubtedly Paige. Jubilee debated about drawing her friend's attention. The choice was taken out of her hands when Paige looked over her shoulder.  
  
"Hey Jubes. Beautiful morning, isn't it?" she asked, slowing her pace so that Jubilee could catch up. Paige's words were spoken rapidly. Her surprise at running into the younger girl was evident.  
  
"I guess. I haven't been outside, so I couldn't tell you?"  
  
"Oh."  
  
Jubes was glad that Paige hadn't had the presence of mind to ask her why she was awake so early. Then again, having known her teammate for several years, it was likely that Paige assumed that she'd become some sort of a role model to her friend. That Jubilee, inspired by Paige's perseverance, would strive to rise before the sun and practice Tae Bo with Billy Blanks.  
  
As if.  
  
As they walked, Jubilee cast a sidelong glance at Paige. The blonde, though a notorious early riser, looked tired. With a start, Jubilee realized that she was wearing the same clothes she'd had on yesterday.  
  
"How was the picnic?" asked Jubilee coyly, doing a lousy job of pretending to sound disinterested.  
  
"Nice," was Paige's terse response. Jubilee could tell that she wasn't going to get any more information out of her. Yet. She did conclude, though, that based on her friend's silence and tired manner, she was just returning. Well, that made one person in the mansion that had gotten even less sleep than she had. Two, if you counted Warren. She hoped that the team wasn't going to be sent on any mission today. She could see the Daily Bugle headline now: Outlaw Mutant Team Defeated by Sleep Depravation!! See page 8 for full story.  
  
The duo was approaching Jubilee's room, as signaled by the resounding snores of the Juggernaut next door. Instead of heading to her room, which was just around the corner, Paige followed Jubilee inside. Apparently, she wasn't too tired for some good old-fashioned girl talk, Jubilee thought, rolling her eyes.  
  
"How do you sleep with that snoring?" asked Paige, nodding her head towards the wall that divided Jubilee's room from Cain's.  
  
"I manage," responded Jubilee distractedly. She'd removed her bandages before showering. The freedom felt good, and she was disappointed that she had to replace them. Personally, she thought that her wounds were healed to the point where she no longer needed the bindings. However, she knew that Hank, Logan, and a score of others would disagree. She decided to wear them to avoid a confrontation she would undoubtedly lose.  
  
"How often do you have to do that?" Paige asked, watching Jubilee gather her gauze and disinfectant with great interest.  
  
"At least two times a day. Sometimes I do it more."  
  
"Do they still hurt?" asked Paige.  
  
Jubilee lifted a hand into the air, so that it was parallel to her face. She inspected the scab on her palm, and then turned her arm so that she could see the back of her hand, which was marked by an identical wound. The scabs had torn slightly during her Danger Room workout yesterday, though there were no signs of this.  
  
"Not too often. It stings sometimes, though." Jubilee's answers were short. She felt uncomfortable with Paige watching her work over her shoulder, yet couldn't bring herself to ask the girl to leave. I really am getting soft, she thought sadly.  
  
Lowered her arm, she began disinfecting her injuries. Finally, she wrapped up her hands with strips of sterile gauze. She did her left hand first; that was the easiest. Her right hand took a little extra work. She was getting pretty good at using her left hand to dress her wounds, though. Paige, who continued watching, made several moves indicating that she wanted to help her friend, but ultimately decided against it. She studied Jubilee with sadness in her eyes.  
  
"Can you still use your powers?"  
  
The smaller girl didn't look up from her work, instead giving Paige an answer in the form of a small fireworks display behind her.  
  
"It doesn't hurt to do that, does it?" Paige asked again. Jubilee sighed. This was getting redundant.  
  
"No, luckily. It would have totally sucked if I'd lost my powers because of that whole mess." That whole mess. What a nice way to sum up her torture, death and resurrection.  
  
"You'd still be Jubilee."  
  
"No. I wouldn't."  
  
Paige didn't respond, and for several moments, the only noise to be heard came in the form of loud snores issued from the room next door. Jubilee felt relieved. Maybe her teammate had finally realized that she was uncomfortable with the current topic of conversation.  
  
"Y'know, if you'd just let him, I'm sure Warren –"  
  
"No!" Jubilee cut her off angrily. Why hadn't she seen this coming? She had no doubt that another dose of Warren's blood would clear up the last remaining signs of her ordeal. The only thing was, she wasn't sure if she wanted that. Part of her was still wallowing in self-recrimination – she thought that maybe the scars she bore as a result of her crucifixion would teach her to be more careful. She wanted them there to serve as a reminder. To ensure that she always remembered what had happened to her, and, more importantly, what had happened to Angelo.  
  
"Jubilee, it's not that bad. You're almost healed. I'm sure just a little more –"  
  
"Paige, I said no."  
  
"Why not?" challenged her friend.  
  
"Because."  
  
"Because what?"  
  
"Just because. Leave me alone, okay," Jubilee said, her voice curt and loud.  
  
Paige looked down, defeated. "I'm heading down for breakfast," she said quietly, changing the subject. "Do you want to come?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. Just give me a minute here," Jubilee said after a pause. Her eyes brightened at the mention of food. Maybe she could get something out of this after all.  
  
"You ready for Lorna's bachelorette party?" asked Paige, still intent on changing the subject. She was still upset that Jubilee had snapped at her.  
  
"Oh yeah. That's tonight, huh?" Jubilee asked. She crumpled the empty gauze package into a ball, which she tossed into the wastebasket next to her desk. She shoots, she scores!  
  
"We're leaving at nine."  
  
"I can't wait," said Jubilee. Paige wasn't sure if that was sarcasm or if the young girl was sincere.  
  
"Look," Jubilee continued, hoping her teammate would take the hint, "I've still got a couple of things to get together here. Why don't you head downstairs and I'll join you"?  
  
"Y'sure"?  
  
"Course, hayseed."  
  
Paige frowned at Jubilee. She hated that nickname and Jubilee knew it. At the moment, however, the dark haired girl was preoccupied with cleaning up her mess, ignoring the angry look Paige was casting her way. Without another word, Paige left.  
  
She returned only minutes later, as Jubilee had hoped she would.  
  
"Do you know that there's no food in the kitchen? No good food, anyway. All I found was a bunch of Pop Tarts, potato chips, and some onions? Who did the grocery shopping?" Paige shouted, frustrated. "I'm exhausted, irritated, and hungry, and there's nothing to eat!"  
  
"Whoa there girl, don't lose it on me," said Jubilee, the wheels in her head turning.  
  
Paige took a deep breath, and said more calmly, "Sorry. I just really don't need this right now. I didn't mean to yell."  
  
"S'okay. Look, I've got some cinnamon granola bars I've been saving up," Jubilee began. Paige's eyes widened at the mention of her favorite snack. "But I know you really like them," continued Jubilee, "so, if you want, they're yours."  
  
"Really?" asked Paige.  
  
"Totally. You're like, one of my best friends," Jubilee responded, opening her refrigerator a crack and reaching for a box.  
  
"Why do you keep them in the fridge," frowned Paige.  
  
"Um.....I like them cold," responded Jubilee, thinking fast. Darn it Bobby, she thought, I know you're the Iceman, but not everything has to be cold.  
  
She handed the box to Paige, who smiled in appreciation. "Thanks, Jubes. You're such a great person," she gushed.  
  
Jubilee smiled what she hoped was a friendly smile. "Glad to help out." A pause followed, then she muttered, "I just wish ... never mind."  
  
"What?"  
  
"It's nothing."  
  
"Liar. Tell me."  
  
"Well, I was going to ask if I could wear that necklace you have to the party tonight. You know, the one with the pink stones you showed me yesterday? The one with the matching earrings."  
  
"The one that Warren just got me?" Paige asked. Jubilee nodded. "Jubilee, I haven't even had a chance to wear it yet. I was planning to wear it tonight."  
  
"Oh. I understand," muttered Jubilee, turning her gaze away. "It's just that it matches the dress I got today perfectly, and I still don't know what happened to all of my old stuff, and... and... and I just wanted to look pretty for once," she rambled on, staring at her hands. She didn't want to risk a glance at Paige to gauge her reaction, lest something in her expression give her away  
  
Paige looked down at the box of granola bars in her hands and back at the young woman sitting in front of her. Jubilee looked so sad and dejected.  
  
"On second thought, I think it would look better on you than me anyway. Pink's so not my color. Why don't you wait here? I'll go get it."  
  
She returned with the necklace and earrings seconds later.  
  
"Thanks, Paige," Jubilee exclaimed, barely able to contain her giggles. Her plan was paying off.  
  
"No problem. What are friends for?" replied Paige, returning to her room to enjoy her newly acquired granola bars and catch up on sleep. 


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry this took so long to post. School's been getting really rough, plus I'm just getting over a bad cold. So, basically, I'm behind on everything. This chapter is longer than my usual, though, so I hope that'll at least partially make up for the lateness. Especially since I don't know when I'll have a chance to write the next chapter, so the next chapter will probably be late too. Sorry in advance!  
  
Oh. And, in case anyone forgot, I don't own the X-men and I'm not making any money off of this.  
  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
Shortly after Paige had left her room, Jubilee headed downstairs towards the mansion's enormous living room, where the Professor always kept of a copy of the county phone book. As was the norm this early in the morning, the mansion was quiet, most of its residents still asleep or just barely waking. She found the book near the phone and located Dr. Bauer's number easily. Since she didn't see any paper, she scribbled the digits onto the back of her hand, just above her bandages, with a pen she found nearby.  
  
Back in her room, Jubilee called the doctor's office from her cell phone. Luckily, they still had her records from her last visit. In addition, she was able to schedule an appointment for later that morning. Feeling proud of herself for accomplishing the task, Jubilee made her way back down to the mansion's main floor.  
  
By this time, several of her friends and teammates were awake and congregated in the kitchen. Slipping in quietly, she helped herself to a cup of strong coffee someone had made. As she sweetened her java, she couldn't help overhearing several of the comments circulating the room.  
  
"I can't believe this!" grumbled Jean. "There's no fruit anywhere! What am I supposed to eat?"  
  
"Why are there so many bags of onions in the pantry? There's enough onions in there to last a lifetime," said Scott, making a face. "Who's turn was it to get the groceries?"  
  
"Well, at least there's plenty of cereal," Kurt commented, looking for the silver lining, as usual.  
  
"Yeah, and no milk!" Warren frowned in response.  
  
"I don't see what everyone's so upset about. There's plenty of good food," Cain said, helping himself to several boxes of Pop Tarts and a large bag of sour cream and onion potato chips. "What?" he asked in response to the looks cast his way.  
  
The conversation carried on as Jubilee lifted the coffee mug to her mouth. The motion disguised the smirk that came to her lips as she tried to figure out just how much her teammates were willing to give up to in order to get their favorite foods.  
  
Catching movement out of the corner of her eye, Jubilee turned and saw Bobby emerge from the basement, still wearing his training uniform. He must have just finished up a Danger Room session. Unaware that he was being observed, Bobby closed the door behind him and made his way towards the stairs. His face was devoid of expression, which was Jubilee's first clue that something was wrong. Some sort of gloom radiated from him. Like in those old cartoons, she pictured a small thundercloud following him around, gifting him his own personal rainstorm. Except, of course, that this cloud was metaphorical. Last she had heard, Storm was still hanging with Remy and Rogue.  
  
She debated calling out to him, but decided against it. After all, a roomful of people all out to get him was within earshot. Well, not that they knew that he was the one responsible for the grocery mishap. Yet.  
  
They'd figure it out soon enough, though. The X-men were nothing if not problem solvers. Plus, there was the fact that Bobby was usually responsible for these types of occurrences. Apart from the few times that she was behind them.  
  
Hmm...maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to make herself scarce before she was questioned.  
  
Jubilee set down her empty coffee mug, intent on following Bobby up the stairs. She'd only taken two steps away from the counter when she heard her voice called.  
  
"Jubilee!"  
  
Drat it! she thought. Foiled again.  
  
"Yup?" she asked, turning to face the speaker.  
  
"Aren't you going to eat something?" Jean-Paul inquired.  
  
"There's nothing to eat," she snorted, trying to sound upset. It wasn't hard, really.  
  
"Do you know who did the shopping this week?" asked Scott, finally noticing her.  
  
"If I had to guess, I'd say someone with really messed up taste buds. And bad breath," she added, nodding towards the five pound bag of onions Scott was currently holding. The team leader frowned. He'd been hoping for a more definitive answer.  
  
"Anyway, I've gotta run, but I'll see you guys in the Danger Room later," she said, hoping that would end the conversation.  
  
Glancing at the living room clock, she realized that it was already nine o'clock. Her appointment was in less than an hour, and she had to roller blade into town. She looked towards the stairs and was not surprised to find that Bobby was long gone. Although she had no time to track him down now, she made a mental note to talk to him later.  
  
The trip to town took slightly longer than she'd expected, though Jubilee still made it to her appointment on time. It turned out that Dr. Bauer remembered her from her last visit. It felt good to talk to someone about her problems. Of course, she had to bend the truth about Angelo's death a little. She felt bad for lying to the kindly old gentleman, but she couldn't do much to remedy that situation. In the end, Dr. Bauer gave her a prescription for a mild sleep-aid.  
  
Jubilee filled the prescription at the pharmacy adjoining the doctor's office. The pharmacist was another elderly gentleman who took the time to sit down with her and discuss any questions she had about her medicine. When she left the pharmacy, Jubilee made sure to stuff the prescription into her bag, just in case she ran into someone she knew on her way home. She checked the time and saw that it was eleven thirty. The team Danger Room session was scheduled for two, so she had plenty of time to get back. Although she knew that she could kill time window-shopping, Jubilee couldn't wait to get back to the mansion. Wolvie, who had been gone, taking care of personal business, had called to tell her that he would be returning in time for Alex and Lorna's wedding. Since the couple's big day was tomorrow, she was expecting him back soon.  
  
Jubilee felt a soft wind hit her face as she bladed through town. It pushed back the wisps of hair that had come loose from her ponytail and cooled her skin. She grinned to herself – this was great roller blading weather. Although she was in a hurry to get ack, Jubilee decided that it wouldn't hurt to take the scenic route home. As much as she'd have liked, though, the reasoning behind her conclusion had very little to do with the weather. It had much more to do with her desire to keep an eye out for the girl she and Bobby had encountered yesterday. She'd rescued her, and now Jubilee felt a strange sense of responsibility towards Lorraine. Kind of like finding an abandoned little puppy out in the rain.  
  
Hmm...something was just a little wrong with that analogy.  
  
She skated along the outskirts of the park, nearby where Lorraine had indicated her house was. The houses on her block were decently sized, though they were relatively close together. Although some of the buildings looked like they could use some repairs, any flaws she spotted were relatively minor. The grass in front of all the homes was well cared for, and neatly trimmed shrubs surrounded several houses. Children played in the sidewalks and an impromptu game of football was taking place in the park on the other side of the street. Meanwhile, several adults were sitting on their porches chatting and keeping an eye on their offspring.  
  
She'd bladed past the entire length of the park without encountering Lorraine. Feeling slightly disappointed, Jubilee decided that it really was about time that she head back to the school.  
  
The mansion's gates opened for her after a retinal scan. She bladed across the driveway, all the way up to the mansion's front door, where she deftly stopped, plopped her rear end on the front stoop and proceeded to remove her roller blades. She'd learned long ago that the Professor didn't appreciate people roller blading across the school's hardwood floors and oriental rugs, though she didn't understand the logic. After all, it seemed like some big bad mutant arch nemesis destroyed them every other month. If they were going to be replaced anyway, why couldn't she have her fun? She'd definitely do less damage with her blades, than, say, Apocalypse and his horsemen. Or whoever the villain of the week happened to be.  
  
She put her hand on the doorknob to open it, but something stopped her. She heard voices on the other side. She couldn't discern who the voices belonged to, but she knew that most of the mansion's residents would not be happy with her for her solo excursion. She could hardly deny it, especially if she was caught clenching her roller blades in one hand and her helmet in the other. Jubilee hated that. She'd lived on her own for so long. Heck, she'd been a minor for a good part of that time. In spite of her attempts to suppress it, Jubilee felt a sudden surge of anger. When she'd lived in LA, she'd received very few phone calls and almost no visits, from her former teammates. Back then, she'd allowed herself to think that her friends had finally accepted that she could look after herself. But now that she was back, they were treating her like a little kid again. Obviously, they hadn't realized that she was capable of making her own decisions.  
  
But what really nagged at her was: If the reason that they hadn't bothered to keep in touch wasn't because they'd thought that she could take care of herself, then what was it?  
  
Jubilee quietly stepped away from the door, trying to clear her thoughts. She decided to stash her blades in a nearby shed and come back for them later. Once she had done so, she made her way to the mansion's back door, hoping that, by now, the kitchen had cleared out.  
  
As she rounded the corner, Jubilee was surprised to find rows of chairs and clusters of tables set up behind the mansion. Two trucks were parked a few feet away, and a green haired woman, probably Lorna, was supervising their unloading. Several feet away, a tall man and a shorter, plumper woman were preparing a trellis of flowers. The flowers were mostly lilies and roses, though there were a few species that Jubilee didn't recognize. She was buffeted by a soft breeze, which carried the scent of the flowers towards her. She breathed deep, enjoying the olfactory sensation.  
  
As she walked along the hedges that surrounded the mansion, Jubilee waved at Lorna. Although the woman was facing her, she didn't return the gesture. Obviously, she had other, more important, things on her mind. Shrugging, Jubilee turned onto the building's back porch. The wooden stairs creaked as if to welcome her. Once, when she was much younger, she'd tried jumping from stair to stair, up and down, trying to create a melody from the sounds. It didn't work, and she finally gave up when someone from upstairs shouted at her to cut it out. Now she realized that stair music was a pretty immature thing to attempt to make at age thirteen. The memory brought a blush of embarrassment to her cheeks.  
  
The back door led to the mansion's kitchen. The room was empty, and one look at the kitchen clock told her why. Quarter to two, read the stately old timepiece, a intricately carved coo coo clock that Kurt had brought back with him from a recent trip to Germany. The trip to Lorraine's block had taken more time than she had expected. Her teammates were probably gathering downstairs for their training session. Jubilee hurried upstairs to her room to don her uniform.  
  
The unstable molecule molded themselves to her as they always did. She hadn't had the time to design her own uniform yet, and instead wore a modified version of one of her Generation X costumes. Although the outfit resembled skintight leather, it had the feel of soft cotton against her skin. The matching boots took several minutes to locate. Jubilee put them on in a rush, and quickly glanced in the mirror to make sure that she looked all right. Her ponytail had come mostly undone, and she worried that her hair would be in her eyes during the training session. Aware that she was late, Jubilee removed the yellow elastic that held her hair up, reshaped the ponytail with her hands, and refastened the hair band. Satisfied with her work, she ran down the stairs, slamming the door to her room shut behind her. The loud sound made her wince and she hoped there was no one around to hear it.  
  
She was halfway down the basement stairs when she realized that she'd left her yellow trench coat hanging in her closet. Although she wanted to turn around and retrieve it, she knew doing so would make her even tardier. She'd just have to deal without her coat. Actually, that wasn't a difficult concept. She rarely wore the garment outside of missions and battle scenarios, where it's billowing folds helped disguise the tight nature of her uniform.  
  
The Danger Room doors were wide open, and Jubilee ran inside. Her teammates were gathered in a group slightly off to the right, looking bored. Scott and Kurt, standing next to a large plastic container, were in the process of addressing them. Glancing upwards, Jubilee saw Hank and the Professor in the control room. She bit her lip. They'd probably noticed her late arrival. However, the lack of a psychic warning helped to reassure her that she wasn't going to be reprimanded for it. She walked towards her teammates, slipping in quietly next to Jono. She saw Scott look at her, although he too did not comment on her lateness.  
  
"Since the next twenty four hours should prove hectic, we've decided to take it easy on you guys today," Scott was saying.  
  
"Well, not too easy," Kurt smiled. "We've designed an exercise to test your reflexes, coordination, and team work." His tone was a teasing one, and several people exchanged curious glances.  
  
"Dodgeball," said Scott firmly, reaching into the bin next to him to pull out a large red Nerf ball. Ignoring several chuckles that came from the group in front of him, he continued, "Normal rules. Two teams. No powers allowed. That's the line," he said, pointing towards the center of the room where a bright yellow line shimmered into existence, bisecting the space.  
  
Kurt split the group of X-men into two teams. Jubilee rolled her eyes, and exchanged an exasperated look with Jono. She'd rushed home from this? To let Scott live out some warped dream he had about teaching high school gym? Jean-Paul, who was on her team, muttered in French under his breath once he realized that the team leaders were serious. Meanwhile, Cain's mouth was wide open, his expression mirroring shock. Jubilee could only imagine what he was thinking. How many times had the X-men defeated him during his tenure as a villain? And this was their secret training regimen?!  
  
Jubilee wondered about what Bobby's reaction to the news was. She was surprised she hadn't heard him voice it yet. Bobby was never one to keep his comments to himself. Scanning the room, Jubilee realized that he was not present for the workout. Considering the mood he had appeared to be in that morning, Bobby's absence worried her.  
  
Jubilee's thoughts about Bobby were interrupted by Scott's shrill whistle. High school gym teacher, she repeated to herself, as she crossed to her side of the court with the remainder of her team.  
  
Although she'd had her misgivings about the workout, in the end, she had more fun than she'd expected. She rarely got a chance to show off her natural agility. Though she wasn't as good at catching the ball as some of her teammates, only Kurt rivaled her in dodging it. They played the game through four times, and she was one of the last people standing in three of the runs. During the second set, Jono sent the ball flying into Warren's back so hard that he'd stumbled. Jubilee couldn't help but become distracted by the private battle between her two friends, and soon enough, someone hit her head with a Nerf ball, tagging her out. On her way to the sidelines, the Professor had given her a psychic lecture about staying on task.  
  
After the training session, most of her teammates made their way up to their rooms to change for the bachelor/bachelorette parties. Although it was still early, the general consensus was that the team was going to stop in town to grab a snack, as there seemed to be very little edible food within the confines of the kitchen. Maybe that was why Bobby hadn't come to the Danger Room session. Had he been found out? Was he in hiding? Rarely did he do anything bad enough to warrant having to avoid the mansion's occupants, but Bobby did have his moments.  
  
She remembered one incident that happened when she was fifteen and visiting from Generation X. Bobby had glued a cotton ball beard to one of Pietro's paintings. His reasoning was that the subject of the portrait looked like a hairless Santa Claus and he couldn't just let that stand. Unfortunately, he had used permanent glue. Worse, the picture had been of Pietro's deceased grandfather. The huge Russian was normally a peaceful man, but Bobby's desecration of his grandfather's portrait drove Pietro over the edge. He spent the whole weekend combing the mansion for Bobby, to no avail. Bobby miraculously reappeared a few days later, after Pietro had calmed down, to offer an apology. He hadn't realized that the picture held such great importance to Pietro.  
  
Jubilee had never figured out where he'd been hiding. She hoped that Bobby wasn't in enough trouble that he had to disappear again. If so, that meant that she'd never find him. But she was getting ahead of herself. Before jumping to conclusions, she decided to check if Bobby was in his room.  
  
"Jubilation! A moment, please!" someone called from behind her.  
  
"Yeah?" she asked. The basement hallway, constructed of some sort of Shi'ar synthetic material, echoed her gruff response.  
  
"I realize that you are hurried to prepare for tonight's festivities, but I would have a brief word with you," Hank said, bouncing off of the wall and performing an aerial somersault, gracefully landing next to her.  
  
"Depends on the word," she smiled.  
  
Hank rolled his eyes, though the gesture was in good humor. Although Jubilee had finally matured, both emotionally and physically, there were some things that would never change.  
  
"Well, two words, actually. Charles and I have received word from MUSE that your friend Angelo's funeral had finally been arranged."  
  
"Oh." The sound was very quiet, and Jubilee's expression became downcast and pensive. Not that he could blame her. He knew how hard the loss of a friend could be. He wished that he could offer her some words of condolence, but, for once, he was at a loss for words. And, when Hank was at a loss for real words, he had a tendency to babble. So he continued, "They had to sort through an enormous amount of red tape and false bureaucratic documents, which is the reason for the delay. However, we now know that it will take place in Los Angelos, in three days. I know that both you and Paige will be attending."  
  
Jubilee nodded, not looking at him. After a few moments of silence, Hank changed the subject, "Robert visited my laboratory last night, in quite a state of worry. Apparently, you passed out while in his company yesterday, and he was concerned for your well-being. Do you have any recollection of your episode?" he asked, eying the young woman's expression as he did so. Although she did her best not to react to his tidings, Hank couldn't ignore the dark look that came into her eyes. It was as he had feared. Jubilee hadn't been planning to discuss last night's event, and was, if anything, dead set against being involved in a conversation centered around that occurrence. Not that that would deter him.  
  
"No," she frowned. The change in her tone of voice was remarkable, and Hank wryly thought to himself that at least she wasn't sad any longer.  
  
"No recollection at all?"  
  
"Don't know what you're talking about, Hankster."  
  
"I see". He paused. "Jubilation, I realize that you may not remember, or wish to remember the event, but, as your physician, I am concerned for both your health and welfare. This episode strongly reminds me of the fainting spell you experienced five years ago. It would be in your best interest to allow me to perform a thorough physical examination."  
  
"Hank, I don't need one," Jubilee said, no longer feigning ignorance. "I told you last time that it wouldn't happen again, and it didn't, until now. Trust me. I'm fine. I'm going to stay fine."  
  
"I do trust you. But-,"  
  
"Thank you," she cut him off, turning and walking away.  
  
"But I still think that submitting to an examination would be a wise choice on your part."  
  
"I'm fine!" she called back to him turning the corner. "How many times do I have to tell you? Don't worry about me!"  
  
"I can't help but worry, Jubilation," Hank said. "What will occur if you experience an episode while you are alone, out of the safe company of friends?" But Jubilee had sprinted out of earshot and hadn't heard him. Hank shook his head, dejected, but also determined. If the young lady did indeed experience another such spell, she would not be able to brush him off so easily, no matter how guilty he felt for upsetting her. Sighing, he turned to make his way towards his lab, his huge fingers fumbling for the glasses in his lab coat pocket.  
  
Meanwhile, Jubilee continued her trek to Bobby's room. However, the purpose of her visit had changed. Her normally cherubic face sported an angry frown as she made her way up the stairs.  
  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
I guess that I managed to confuse some people in regards to Jubilee's plan. Oops! Basically, Jubilee knew that Bobby was going to buy crappy groceries that most people would never eat. So when she went grocery shopping with him, she bought some of everyone's favorite foods, and plans to use them to bribe her hungry teammates into giving her whatever she wants at the moment. Does that clear things up? 


	14. Chapter 14

Hello all! I'm reeeeeaaally sorry about how long it took me to get around to writing this. I've been pretty busy lately. I'll definitely try to keep updates more frequent from now on. Oh – and you were right, YourAngelStandingBy, I did mean Piotr when I wrote Pietro. That's what happens when you do most of your writing after 3am. Not that that little mistake would deter me from writing after 3am, of course. (  
  
Bobby had stayed awake for hours, agonizing over last night's encounter with Jubilee. He wondered if she was all right. He wondered about what caused her episode. And, most importantly, he wondered if she would remember resting her cheek on the patch of ice hidden underneath his shirt. If she remembered the cold underneath on his chest, would she recognize it for what it was - second mutation, eating away at him. Or would she just attribute the feeling to her state at the time?  
  
He'd fallen asleep with these questions still running through his head just as the sun was beginning to rise. When his alarm woke him up, not too much later, the questions were still there. Although groggy and tired, Bobby knew that he wasn't going to get any more sleep that night. Day. Whatever. Although he really wasn't in the mood for it, Bobby decided to go ahead with his morning workout. Maybe that would help him clear his head.  
  
He stopped in the kitchen to make coffee. No one else was downstairs. Bobby decided that that was probably a good thing once he opened the cupboard and was confronted by the results of the previous day's shopping extravaganza. He finished his coffee hurriedly and made his way towards the basement.  
  
His workout was uneventful, though it did little to clear his mind of his worries. With an angry sigh, he proceeded to shut down the Danger Room equipment and began to make his way back to his room. On the way upstairs, he heard unhappy voices coming from the kitchen. Bracing himself, he opened the basement door. It seemed as though all of the teams were gathered in the kitchen, bickering and complaining amongst themselves. From what he caught as he tried to slink by quietly, they were none to happy with his grocery decisions. Normally, the sight of Scott waving around 5 lb bags of onions would have made him snicker, but today, he barely noticed. Despite his rotten mood, some rational part of him decided that it would be in his best interest to stay out of the reaches of his teammates until they calmed down.  
  
When Bobby reached his room, he headed straight for his bed, collapsing onto the mattress. Tired after his workout and mentally exhausted from his worrying, he fell asleep almost immediately.  
  
He was awoken by a beeping sound. He sat up in bed, disorientated. His initial reaction was confusion – why was he sleeping in the middle of the day? He vaguely remembered lying down and came to the obvious conclusion that he had fallen asleep. But that didn't explain the beeping noise. He glanced towards his alarm clock, but quickly discerned that the sound was not coming from that direction. It sounded like it came from outside. He slowly got up and made his way towards the window. A van was reversing out of the mansion's front gate. The side of the van had "Patsy's Floral Creations" painted on in huge, curvy letters. Bobby's first thought was: Why's he reversing, it's a circular driveway? His second was: Who ordered flowers?  
  
Movement to his right caught his eye. Turning towards that direction, he saw uniformed men arranging white lawn furniture.  
  
Oh, right. The wedding.  
  
Somehow, he'd forgotten that it was tomorrow.  
  
Wait, if the wedding was tomorrow, that meant that the bachelor party was today.  
  
What time was it again?  
  
Bobby looked at his wristwatch, which read 4:30pm, and he was hit with the overwhelming realization that he had slept for most of the day. The party wasn't for a few hours, though. That gave him plenty of time.  
  
Whew.  
  
Not that he really wanted to go. But he was going to make an appearance. He wanted to prove that he was in no way bitter about Lorna and Alex's union. He had no idea why everyone assumed he was. Him? Robert Drake? Bitter? He didn't know the meaning of the word.  
  
Glancing downward, he found that his strong grip on the windowsill had turned his knuckles white. He released the sill from his grasp. Nope, he thought with a frown, not bitter at all.  
  
He was about to turn away from the window when laughter and voices caught his attention. A contingent of X-men was on their way out. He saw Scott and Hank, along with a couple of others who'd flown in for the ceremony, standing in the driveway. The men seemed extremely excited. Soon, Warren pulled up in his gigantic, Limited Edition SUV. Everyone piled in and the vehicle sped towards the gate.  
  
Apparently, people were heading over early.  
  
With nothing else to do, Bobby decided to follow suit.  
  
He pulled a pair of clean clothes from his closet and proceeded to change. As he was putting on his shirt, the door banged open. The sound made Bobby jump, and the temperature in the room lowered by several degrees.  
  
"What the hell were you thinking?" said a very angry voice.  
  
His heart stopped and his gaze was quickly direct towards the door to his room, where a furious looking Jubilee stood. At the sight of her, a well of emotions built up inside him. There was relief that she was feeling better, guilt for not checking on her, confusion in regards to what he had done to earn her ire, as well as several other sentiments that he didn't recognize and didn't feel like analyzing. All of those were quickly replaced by fear when he realized that, had Jubilee made her entrance a moment sooner, she would have walked in on him changing. Even worse, she would have had a good view of the ice marring his chest.  
  
"Can't you knock?" he yelled back at her, his fear giving way to a defensive anger.  
  
Whatever response she had been expecting, that wasn't it. She seemed taken aback at first, and then her eyes filled with an angry determination.  
  
"Can't you keep your mouth shut?" she countered loudly. "You had no right to tell Hank about what happened last night. Why'd you worry him like that?"  
  
"Wait – what?!" Bobby stuttered, "You're mad about that? Listen, you asked me not to take you to the Med lab, and I didn't. You didn't say anything about keeping my mouth shut!"  
  
"It was implied."  
  
"No, it wasn't!"  
  
"Maybe you were just too block-headed to pick up on it!" Jubilee shouted back. Perhaps realizing that she was shouting, she lowered her voice, though it was obvious that she was still upset with him. "You shouldn't have told Hank. Why'd you worry him like that?" she repeated.  
  
"Why'd you worry me like that?" he replied.  
  
Jubilee's resolve seemed to waiver momentarily, but her tone was still harsh as she responded, "I don't need you to worry about me! You have no business worrying about me! Why don't you worry about yourself first?"  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Figure it out. And, while you're at it, why don't you figure out how to keep your nose out of other people's business".  
  
"Well, if we're on that subject, why don't you figure out what you're really so upset about. I'm tired of being the target of your temper and I'm tired of your unfair scrutiny of my actions and I'm tired of having to justify my every move. I told Hank because I wanted to. It's not like you swore me to secrecy," Bobby growled, walking towards the door. Jubilee stood her ground, staring at him defiantly. "I've got enough going on right now. I don't need you barging in here with your misplaced accusations," he continued as he reached her. With a quick movement, he reached for the door and proceeded to shut it. Jubilee barely managed to jump backwards in order to avoid having the door literally slam into her face.  
  
"And stay out!" he shouted.  
  
That was close, that was close, that was so close. A few seconds earlier and she would have seen the ice. He took several deep breaths and waited for his rapidly beating heart to slow down. He was safe, his secret was safe. It didn't look like she had remembered. He'd gotten rid of her, he'd –  
  
Just slammed his door into her face.  
  
His breath caught as he realized what he'd done and what he'd said. Maybe his heart was nothing but ice after all. Block headed and ice hearted. What else could explain how cold he'd just been to her? He leaned his head against his door, wishing he could take back his words. He'd quite possibly ruined a friendship to protect his secret. Was it worth it? he wondered, and was not surprised when he did not receive a reply.  
  
Bobby stood in that position for several minutes, with his headed rested against the door, lost in self-recrimination. He would probably have maintained the stance for several more had he not heard a noise on the other side of the door. His ears strained to catch the sound again, but the effort was not rewarded. There was always the chance that he was mistaken - after all, he didn't have enhanced hearing like Logan. But he could have sworn that he had heard a quiet sob.  
  
His hand reached for the doorknob. Taking a deep breath to strengthen his resolve, Bobby opened the door a crack.  
  
"Hello," he called out softly, glancing down the hall. "Anyone there?" After a pause, he added, "Jubilee?"  
  
The hallway was empty. His guess was that most of the team had already left for the party. Bobby took one more look around him, and then closed the door.  
  
Why don't you figure out what you're really so upset about, Bobby had told her, shortly before slamming the door in her face. What am I upset about, she asked herself.  
  
Bobby told Hank about her fainting last night. He'd worried Hank, and now the good doctor was going to be watching her like a hawk.  
  
Did you ask him not to tell, asked a small voice.  
  
Yes! Well, no, she thought in response. She had asked that Bobby not take her to the Med lab. Anyone could have figured out that she didn't want Hank to know.  
  
Anyone, asked the voice.  
  
Of course.  
  
Well, obviously Bobby didn't catch on, nagged her inner self.  
  
That's cause Bobby's a butthead, she replied lamely.  
  
Alright. So I'm mad at Bobby for doing something that I didn't quite tell him he wasn't supposed to do.  
  
So, shouldn't you be mad at yourself.  
  
She had no response. Instead, she felt unbidden tears begin to form. Jubilee blinked rapidly, trying to hold them back. She wondered what was wrong with her. Why was she crying again? It seemed like that was all she had done since her return from the beyond. She'd cried more in the short time since she'd been resurrected than she had during the entire time she had lived in Los Angelos.  
  
Even as she tried to blink back her tears, a small sob escaped her lips, and she realized that a breakdown was inevitable. The last thing she needed was for someone to see her crying her eyes out. She slowly backed away from Bobby's door, before breaking out into a run in the direction of her room. As she rounded the corner, she thought that she heard a door open. The thought that someone might encounter her in her present state spurred Jubilee into running even faster. 


	15. Chapter 15

Jubilee's POV

* * *

So, there I was. On my way to my best friend's funeral. Again. To be honest, I'm pretty surprised that, even with all that happened at Alex and Lorna's not-wedding, we were still going to be on time. I talked to both Hank and Professor X about the arrangements they made with MUSE. I wanted to make sure that Angelo got the kind of funeral that he wanted.  
  
Not that I knew exactly what he wanted. As roommates, we'd stayed up lots of times talking about "stuff", but funeral plans never really made it into our conversations. We mostly stuck to topics like what it was like being mutants and reminiscing about our times with Gen X. Every once in a while, we moved to more normal topics, like would we ever get married (to other people) and what we wanted to do with our futures (his dream was to win the lottery and move to Malibu. Mine was more sensible. I wanted to become a famous actress and then rejoin the X-men). The closest we ever got to talking about death was when we wondered what happened after someone died. Neither of us was too sure about that one.  
  
Well, I was dead, and now I'm back. But the funny thing is, I really have no idea what happened. I have almost no recollection of how I died, let alone where I went while I was dead. If I went anywhere.  
  
But anyway, I've strayed off topic, something that I'm pretty much known for. What I was getting at was that Ange and I never once discussed what we wanted at our funerals. Actually, if someone had told us that it was a good idea to have these things planned out, we'd have looked at that person like they were insanely morbid.  
  
So, when the Professor approached me and asked me about Ange's funeral, I kind of stared at him, confused. I'd never really thought that funerals needed to be planned. I'd thought that they were just things that you showed up to. Of course, I realize now that that makes no sense, but I was still kind of in shock, so sue me for not thinking clearly.  
  
Even though Ange and I hadn't drawn up funeral plans, I didn't have too much of a hard time drafting his, on account of that I probably knew him better than any other living person. Plus, I'd been to enough funerals in my life to know the basic layout.  
  
Angelo was Catholic. He almost never went to church, but he wore a crucifix chain around his neck, which he almost never took off. Plus, he kept a couple of crosses and religious symbols around our apartment. I figured if he was going to have any sort of service, it should be a Catholic one. I also decided that he should be buried in the same cemetery his family was in. He went weekly to drop off flowers at their graves. He never took me with him, but I knew where it was.  
  
All in all, it was going to be a quiet, short ceremony with just a few of the X-men attending. I knew this would have irked him, since he didn't really like the superhero crowd all that much, but it was either them or nobody. After all, Ange had been pretty reclusive since our move back here. And his living relatives all thought he was dead. I was pretty sure it would have been a bad idea to go knocking on their doors, saying something along the lines of, "Hey, do you remember your cousin Angelo? The one who died a few years ago? Guess what - he didn't really die!! That's right, he's been living in this very city, up until very recently, when he did die. Wanna come to his funeral? Again?"  
  
So Ange was going to have to deal with a superhero funeral. Sorry dude.  
  
I flew in on the Blackbird with most of the X-men. Shortly before we left, an emergency mission came up, something about a human/mutant clash in Denver. The Professor sent a small team to deal with the problem. Kurt, who was appointed the team's leader, promised me that he would try to make it back in time for the service. Which was nice of him, really. He didn't know Ange very well, but I guess he just wanted to show his support for me. Plus, I'm pretty sure he feels a little guilty about our deaths. Not that he should, but he probably does.  
  
Wolvie came in late the night before the wedding. I didn't see him until after the parties. Paige was going to let me hitch a ride back to the mansion. Like me, she really didn't enjoy the festivities as much. But I think she was better at hiding it. Plus, not only was I bored stiff, I had other - if you ask me, more important - things on my mind. I think it is safe to say that I was pretty relieved that the party ended.

Anyway, Paige and I were walking towards her car, not talking about much of anything. Suddenly, I stopped. I had no idea how I knew someone was following us, but I did. When I turned around, there he was, not ten feet behind us. I couldn't stop myself, I just ran at him and gave him a huge hug.  
  
"I'll take her home, Paige," I heard Wolvie say. I looked back at her. She seemed to contemplate the suggestion for a few seconds. Then she nodded and told us she'd see us back at the mansion. Wolvie led me to where he'd left his motorcycle. Instead of driving me home, though, we stopped at some seedy bar. Wolvie has a thing for seedy bars. Sometimes it's kind of creepy, but this time it was cool because no one carded me. Not that Wolvie would ever let me drink, of course. Not being asked for ID just made me feel, well, older. In a good way, of course.  
  
We sat at a dimly lit table (the whole place was dimly lit if you ask me. I think that the owner was trying to save money on electricity or light bulbs or something). Anyway, we talked about a lot of things. Mostly about me. Wolvie wanted to make sure that I was coping well with what had happened. I always feel totally comfortable talking with Wolvie. I told him almost everything about what's been going on with me. However, I did leave out the part about my fainting and my visit to Dr. Bauer. I didn't want to worry him. Plus, I knew that he'd get mad at me for not seeing Hank right after it happened. I also left out my fight with Bobby. I'm still not quite sure why I did that.  
We finally left the bar fifteen minutes before it closed. I got to bed really late and was extremely surprised when that I woke up in time for the wedding.  
  
I should have stayed in bed.  
  
The flight to Los Angelos was pretty uneventful. Jono kept looking at Paige and Warren, who were sitting right in front of him. He looked so upset that I finally got up and sat next to him.  
  
"What?" I heard an irritated voice ask.  
  
"Chicken butt," I thought in response, trusting him to pick up the thought. His sudden scowl confirmed that he had. I looked around the room. Nobody was paying us the least attention. I guess everyone was pretty used to telepathic conversations.  
  
"Clever, Jubes. No wonder they made you a teacher," he replied sarcastically.  
  
"Oh, ha ha. Look, I just came over to check up on you. And to tell you to cut it out."  
  
"Cut what out?" he asked. I was amazed. He actually had no idea what I was talking about.  
  
"That whole jealousy thing you've got going with Paige and Warren." Before he could respond, I continued, "Not that I don't understand what you're going through. After all, I know how it is to love someone and not be loved back. But, dude, you've got to move on. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but it'll get better. She's found someone else, and, eventually, so will you. And if you give me any of that 'who'd want a guy with half a face' crap, I swear I'll blast off the other half." The nice part about telepathic conversation is that you don't have to pause for breath.  
  
Jono didn't respond for a long time. I was actually worried that he was going to ignore me. Finally, though, he asked, "Is it that obvious?"  
  
"Well, only to those of us who've got most of our five senses working. There's probably some deaf/blind person out there who's got no clue. Unless he's telepathic, of course," I added.  
  
Jono took another moment to brood. He's really got that whole sulking thing down to an art. Finally, he nodded.  
  
"Look, luv, I'm sorry I've been acting like a bloody fool lately. Can't say that I'll stop it – don't know if I could stop it, even if I wanted to - but if it's really that apparent, I'll try to tone it down."  
  
My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe it had been that easy. I was so amazed that he had seen my point that I forgot to mention that I wasn't the one he should be apologizing to.  
  
Anyway, we spent the rest of the flight catching up. Jono is actually a pretty cool guy when he's not feeling sorry for himself. Basically, that means he's a cool guy for about three hours a day.  
  
The Professor had arranged for hotel rooms for us near the airport. We got in kind of late, so most of us adjourned to our rooms. The funeral was planned for tomorrow. Then, we'd stay overnight one more night before flying back.  
  
Paige is supposed to be my roommate. However, since Warren's roommate, Bobby, is currently in Denver with Kurt, I have the room to myself. Which turns out to be a good thing, since I've forgotten my pills. I can't sleep for a bunch of stupid reasons, but mostly because I'm freaked out about experiencing another nightmare. So here I lay, awake in bed, just thinking. My thoughts keep returning to that stupid fight that I'd had with Bobby the day before the not-wedding. Both of us are now acting like nothing happened. Well, except for the fact that we haven't spoken since. And the fact that we're kind of avoiding each other.  
  
I definitely said some things that I regret now. Actually, I regret most of what I said. Sometimes, it's like my mouth is on autopilot and my brain really has no control over what I'm saying and no idea about what I'm going to say next. I've been pretty good at not doing that since I got back, but for some reason, I seem to lose all of my restraint with Bobby. I guess that sometimes I'm so comfortable with him that I feel that I can say anything, even things I shouldn't.  
  
Is that weird?  
  
Yep, I'm weird.  
  
What else is new?  
  
The fight with Bobby had made me so upset that I almost didn't go to the bachelorette party. I finally decided to make an appearance just to keep people from worrying about me. I've been doing that a lot lately. Trying to keep people from worrying about me. I mean, it's normal to worry about someone you care about. Bobby told me that much that night in the car. I guess that I just don't want people trying to take care of me when I should be taking care of myself. To put it another way, I just want them to acknowledge that I've grown up. I can handle things myself. Although, come to think of it, I have been acting kind of extreme lately.  
  
Is this some sort of coming-of-age, independence crap?  
  
And if it is, I should really stop taking it out on Bobby. I'm sure he has enough going on without me complicating matters. After all, he hadn't been taking this wedding thing too well to begin with. And now that the wedding's off, it looks like Alex and Annie are an official couple. I don't think Bobby took _that _news well either. Plus, over the past few days (well, while I was still speaking to him), he'd been kind of distracted. But it wasn't just pre-wedding distraction. Somehow, I can tell that there's something else. Like he's got something on his mind, or some deep dark secret he's trying to hide.  
  
Actually, that's something else that is upsetting me. I know something is bothering him and I wish he'd just tell me. What's funny is that I don't think that this would have been an issue a few years ago, back when I first met Bobby. I mean, we were friends and all, but we didn't exactly confide in one another. Now, I'm kind of hurt that he hasn't told me.  
  
I guess that spending just a few hours with someone really can change your entire opinion of them.  
  
If it wasn't for the fact that Bobby's in Denver and that we're still sort of feuding, I'd probably be knocking on his door right now, asking him if he feels like a game of checkers.  
  
I guess I can always go bug Wolvie. Funny, he's usually the first person I run to when I'm bored. Or scared. Or just about anything. I don't know why I thought of Bobby first.  
  
Maybe I will go see what Wolvie's up to.  
  
Crap. Scratch that thought.  
  
I just remembered, I saw him hanging out at the hotel bar before I came up to my room. He was talking to some redhead wearing too much make- up and not enough clothes. They looked like they were really hitting it off. Knowing Wolvie, that means that if I went over to his room right now, I'd be traumatized for life by what I saw inside.  
  
Well, I guess that's one thing in Bobby's favor. He's not too much for one-night stands.  
  
At least, I don't think he is.  
  
I've never really heard of him having any.  
  
Why is the thought of Bobby having a one-night stand upsetting me so much? I need to stop thinking about all of this and try to fall asleep. After all, I've got to wake up early tomorrow.  
  
I wonder what time it is?  
  
Three AM? Crap. Four more hours until my alarm goes off. Got to try to sleep.  
  
Hmmm...Paige isn't back yet. I guess I'm not going to be the only tired one tomorrow.


	16. Chapter 16

Thanks for all reviews. Keep 'em coming!

The sun shone brightly in the azure, cloudless sky. The grass was at its greenest and the flowers were in bloom, filling the air with their fragrances. Birds chirped their songs to each other, separated from and totally oblivious to the severity of the gathering taking place mere feet away. Bobby Drake, who was having trouble following the words of the old man in front of him, readjusted his necktie guiltily. It wasn't that the minister was boring. In fact, from the few words that Bobby had been able to gleam, he had to say that this sermon was one of the more interesting ones he'd heard. The cause of his inattention, the thing that kept his fingers twitching, his eyes moving, and his legs shuffling, was a thought. It was a persistent idea that had sprung to mind shortly after his arrival at the scene and one that refused to leave.  
  
_It should be raining._  
  
Like in the movies, where mourners huddle under umbrellas in scenes that have barely enough color in them to distinguish them from black and white films, where the widow stands near the coffin, crying tears of sorrow, refusing shelter underneath a nearby umbrella or comfort from a nearby friend. In movies, the landscape reflected the feelings of both the characters and the viewers. Signs of life were muted, and the landscape often looked as dead as the deceased. It seemed wrong that the environment didn't mirror the grief that many of Bobby's friends and teammates were exhibiting.  
  
Bobby wasn't, of course, fool enough to think that the world surrounding them would stop turning because of the death of a relatively unknown mutant. Nor did he believe that the event occurring before his eyes was any less severe due to a lack of precipitation. Indeed, most of the funerals Bobby had attended (and there were quite a number of those), had taken place in almost ideal weather conditions.  
  
It didn't hurt to have a weather goddess on hand.  
  
But Ororo had an almost empathic link with the weather. Although she kept most downpours at bay, a little bit of her mood was reflected in the elements. Consequently, most funerals she was present for were slightly overcast, sometimes windy, and often chilly. It was as if nature itself were mourning.  
  
Ororo had been unable to attend this service, though. A message had arrived from her team, shortly before the majority of the X-men had departed from New York. Although they were deeply sorry for the loss of a fellow mutant, indeed, a fellow man, Ororo's group were unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances. They sent their regrets.  
  
For what seemed to be the tenth time that day, Bobby attempted to clear his mind and focus on the words of the priest in front of him. Within a minute, though, he found himself fidgeting once more. And, almost without realizing it, he began studying his teammates.  
  
Kurt, unlike himself, was seemed to have no problems following the minister's speech. In fact, he seemed riveted. He constantly nodded his agreement to whatever the priest was saying, all the while tightly clenching his rosary. Upon closer scrutiny, though, Bobby noticed that Kurt seemed to be avoiding the direct gaze of the priest, staring, instead, at a tree in the distance. Watching him, Bobby became certain that Kurt's nods were not in response to the priest's sermon. Rather, it seemed that Kurt was nodding in response to a litany in his mind. Overall, the blue furred mutant looked to Bobby like he was performing some sort of penance. Kurt had not taken Angelo's death well, and Bobby wondered how much the blue-furred mutant's grief had been magnified by his guilt.  
  
After a while, Bobby shifted his sights towards the Professor, who was sitting near Scott and Jean. Both Scott and Xavier were wearing identical, intense, expressions. Bobby didn't need telepathy to know what was on their minds. Both men were angry with themselves, feeling that they had failed someone who was under their protection. Jean's expression was inscrutable. It was unclear if she shared the feelings of the two men sitting near her, or if her mind was somewhere else entirely. It bothered him that after so many years of knowing the redheaded telepath, there was still so much she kept from him. Kept from all of them.  
  
Emma and Jean-Paul were situated closely behind Scott and Jean. Jean-Paul looked angry, which was not altogether an unusual expression for him. Bobby briefly wondered what the mutant speedster was upset about (Angelo's unfair, early death or the early hour at which the funeral was taking place,) before shifting his gaze towards Emma.  
  
True to her former title, the White Queen was the only person present not wearing the muted blacks and greys traditionally observed at funerals. Instead, she was regaled in a revealing white business suit. Bobby could remember hearing about some cultures in which white was the customary funeral color. However, he was relatively sure that that had nothing to do with Emma's choice of clothing for the day. Her expression was haughty, as it always was, and something about it made led Bobby to think that she was playing with stocks and numbers in her head.  
  
Suddenly, Bobby felt that he might become ill if he continued to look at Emma. He quickly turned his head towards the other end of the coffin, where Paige stood, flanked by Monet, who'd shown up that morning, and Warren. Tears ran down Paige's face, and she leaned against Warren, who had one arm draped around her. It was obvious that the millionaire mutant was doing his best to be supportive. Monet, meanwhile, looked as immaculate as ever. The only giveaway to her grief was a handkerchief held in her hand, which she periodically raised to dab at her face.  
  
Behind them stood Alex and Annie, holding hands. Bobby was surprised that he didn't feel angrier with them. Instead, he almost felt happy, at least for Annie. He was glad that her love was finally being reciprocated. And the fact that Alex was the one doing the reciprocating only bothered him slightly. The kiss that he'd shared with Annie earlier that week had been unexpected. They'd been two people, lost in their own misery, trying to find comfort in each other. Except that the comfort never came. Annie was still in love with Alex, whose wedding was planned for the following day, while Bobby was still turning to ice and still feeling rundown. This surprised him at first – he'd thought that being kissed by an attractive woman would ease his worries about being a romantic failure, doomed to ending up as a lonely cube of ice.  
  
Maybe it was the wrong time or the wrong place, he reasoned. Or the wrong woman.  
  
Without meaning to, Bobby looked towards the coffin, and those nearest to it. Jono and Logan stood there, along with Jubilee. Logan was looking very out of place in a suit and tie, and Bobby could tell just from looking at him that he was wishing for a cigar. He stood very close to Jubilee, and every once in a while, he reached for her hand or leaned over to whisper into her ear. Jono stood a little farther from Jubilee, on the opposite side of Logan. From what Bobby could tell, Jono hadn't moved since the sermon had begun. No fidgeting, no rocking, no twitching, nothing. He just stood there, wearing his usually gloomy expression (which, for once, was appropriate for the situation) and stared straight ahead intently.  
  
Jubilee, who was standing between Logan and Jono, seemed dwarfed by the Canadian's bulk and the Englishman's height. Although she wasn't crying at the moment, she had tearstains on her face. Like he, Jubilee seemed to be having trouble focusing on the words of the minister. However, it seemed that she was making every effort to avoid looking at her teammates' faces. Instead, she kept her gaze downwards, looking at her shoes. Every once in a while, she raised her head to stare at Angelo's coffin, which was closed at this point. Then she'd quickly turn away, as if scared that someone may have caught her looking. As he watched her now, she did exactly that. She'd been staring at the coffin for a good minute, when she jerked, seemingly just realizing where her eyes were looking. Although he didn't hear it, Bobby could imagine her faint gasp as she tore her eyes away from the casket. What he wasn't counting on was her head turning in his direction, and her eyes, so eager to lose sight of the casket in which her best friend lay, finding his.  
  
Bobby's first inclination was to turn away. He was reminded of those times in fourth grade, when he would stare off into space during a spelling test, hoping that an answer would come to him. Every once in a while, one of the kids in front of him would turn around and accidentally make eye contact. Surprised, Bobby often broke away. Consequently, the kid in front of him got the impression that Bobby was trying to cheat off of his paper and made a big show of covering up his work with his hands. In spite of the fact that he had done nothing wrong, Bobby always felt an unexplainable guilt on these occasions, as if he was at fault. Once again, he felt those feelings of guilt manifest.  
  
Except this was worse. Because he had been staring. It wasn't that he had done anything wrong by staring, or so Bobby tried to tell himself. Nonetheless, the fact remained that he had been doing looking and he had been caught. Bobby felt a blush creep up his neck and felt his cheeks redden. He felt his insides warm and clench and totally forgot that it was only that morning when he had wondered if he would ever feel warmth again.  
  
But for some reason, he didn't look away. He stared head on into those blue eyes, made brighter than normal by the tears she had shed that day. Her expression was almost devoid of emotion, except for the lingering remains of surprise. Apparently, she hadn't been expecting to lock onto his gaze. Standing there, Bobby got the impression she was searching him. For what, he didn't know. For his part, he stared back, noticing her exhaustion, the paths that tears had traced down her face, and her determination to survive even this tragic event, all without breaking eye contact.  
  
Bobby had no idea how long he and Jubilee stood there, unblinking and unmoving. But eventually, the tone of the priest's voice changed, and Bobby knew that the service was finally drawing to a close. Jubilee broke away, once more looking at the old man conducting the ceremony. Wolvie took her hand. She didn't look at him, nor did she turn to look at Bobby for the remainder of the service. But Bobby couldn't tear his eyes away from her.


	17. Chapter 17

Jubilee had had a harrowing day. After the burial, she and Paige had decided to stay behind at the cemetery. To her, it felt like leaving the burial ground would make her friend's death final. Leaving would be like accepting his death and moving on, which she knew she was supposed to do. Move on with her life. But a part of her didn't want to move on. She didn't want to accept Angelo's death. So she stayed, as long as she could. Jubilee had no idea as to why Paige chose to remain behind with her. She thought about asking her, but never got around to it.

It happened soon after Angelo had been buried. Everyone else had departed. Some to a reception in Angelo's honor, some to parts unknown. As Paige and Jubilee stood there, holding a quiet conversation, two men with shovels showed up, claiming that they had been sent to unearth their friend's remains. Mutants, they said, weren't welcome at that particular burial ground. Paige had _ordered _(as if she had any right) Jubilee to go and talk to the director of the cemetery, while she dealt with the gravediggers. In the office, Jubilee found that her pleas fell on deaf ears, while outside, Paige discovered that one of the men intent on digging up their deceased comrade was himself a mutant.

Afterwards, Jubilee managed to separate herself from Paige and Warren, who had joined them. Although she was dreading it, Jubilee planned to visit her old apartment. She had to see it. She had to know if anything was salvageable. She had to know what was left. She took the bus, and then walked the rest of the way, as she had done so many times before. A block from home, an older man sitting on a porch whistled at her and shouted something lewd in her direction. As she had so many times, in so many situations, she ignored the comment and kept walking. A few years ago, she might have yelled back at the guy. If he was really annoying, she might have even approached and hit him. She probably wouldn't have paffed him, but she would have been sorely tempted. But that was then. Now? Now she just ignored him. Jubilee wasn't sure if she liked the change in herself, and was unsure about what may have brought it around. She just felt that the pervert wasn't worth her time.

A second later, though, she heard a loud scream. She stopped, nerves on edge, and turned her head back in an attempt to see if there was anything of interest happening behind her. All she saw was the same old guy, still sitting on his porch.

But there was something.

It might have been her imagination, but it looked as though he was slumped over, like he had passed out.

Jubilee frowned, but decided that she wasn't in the mood to turn back and investigate the old man's state. As she began to walk again, a cat ran by her at top speed, as if running for its life. But there was nothing chasing the poor animal and Jubilee was at a loss as to what was responsible for its terror.

Then the clues fit together and she knew.

"How long have you been following me?" she asked, turning around.

"Didn't need to follow you," responded a familiar voice, "I knew that you'd show up here eventually."

"So you've been lying in wait? Well, that's stalker-ish."

A figure emerged from the gangway of the house that the now unconscious man was sitting in front of. Logan gave a shrug. "You know how it goes. I'm the best there is at what I do."

"And stalking definitely isn't pretty," she finished with a weak smile, which was reciprocated.

She waited for him to catch up to her, and then they made their way towards her old apartment building in silence. Although she had felt the need to be alone, she was grateful for Logan's company. She'd been dreading what she'd find when she reached her former home. Logan's presence made her feel braver, like she could face whatever she found.

When they reached the building, they found that the front door to be unlocked. Jubilee had been expecting this. Pablo, one of the first floor tenants, constantly had visitors over. Jubilee had no idea who her neighbor's guests were and why they were there. But Pablo always left the door unlocked so that his visitors could just come on in and head for his apartment. This lack of security had never really upset Jubilee. She had believed that she was capable of protecting herself (boy had she been wrong), and believed this to be true of Ange also. If anything, she'd worried about some of her other neighbors - Doris, an old lady who occupied another first floor apartment and the Sanchez family, who lived on the third floor.

But today, finding the unlocked relieved her. When she'd turned up at the school, she'd had nothing but the clothes on her back. No ID, no money, and no keys. Jubilee knew that she could paff the lock easily, if she'd needed to. Heck, she'd spent enough time with Storm and Gambit that she could probably pick it, if need be. Plus, she had Logan standing next to her, and she knew that no door could hold him back. But she didn't want to call attention to herself. It was simply easier to turn the knob and enter.

She and Logan made their way up the creaky stairs and dimly lit hallways to her third floor apartment. No one else was around, and Jubilee assumed that that was because it was midday, and most people were off at work. She found herself blabbing to Logan, telling him about the time that Pablo had left the front door unlocked overnight and she'd almost tripped over a homeless man who'd come in and fallen asleep on their stairs. She'd apologized and asked if the man wanted food or anything like that, but the guy had run off, as if he'd expected her to turn him in to the police.

By the time the duo had reached her floor, Jubilee had begun telling Logan about her neighbor directly below her. Hilda, (although Ange and Jubes had started calling her Broomhilda) used to pound on her ceiling with a broom handle if she heard any sort of noise after ten o'clock. Logan listened as Jubilee went on. Some of the stories he'd heard before, and some were new. Every once in a while, he'd offer up a comment or give his opinion on something, but he made an effort to remain silent, listening to her. Whether she knew it or not, Jubilee needed to get this sort of stuff out. He knew his girl. Peppy on the outside, though she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. He knew she'd been bottling this up inside. He also knew that she needed to let it out, and that getting her to do that was the best kind of help he could offer her. So he let her go on. When they'd reached her door, though, Jubilee stopped talking.

"Everything okay, darlin'?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she lied, taking a ragged breath before reaching for her doorknob. Her hand paused an inch from its destination, and she took a moment to steel herself before reaching forward and grabbing the handle. She gripped it tightly while turning it to see if it was locked.

It wasn't. Somehow, that didn't surprise her. She pushed the door open.

Jubilee had come here not knowing what to expect. Although millions of possibilities as to what she might find in her former home had occurred to her, Jubilee didn't truly believe any of them. And it didn't matter. She'd never imagined finding her home exactly as she'd left it.

Well, not _exactly_. As she looked around, she noticed that everything was cleaner, as if someone had tidied up the place. Cleaner than it had ever been while she and Angelo lived there. The floors were mopped and the pictures on the wall straightened. The random objects that always seemed to end up on their floor were put neatly away. The mismatched furniture had even been dusted.

As the pair stepped into Jubilee's apartment, Logan growled softly. Jubilee looked at him quizzically, waiting for an explanation. When one was not forthcoming, she asked him, "Smell anything familiar?"

Logan frowned. He seemed to be trying to place whatever he'd just smelled, but then shook his head. "I'm smelling about twenty different scents. Mostly guys, but some ladies too. No one I've ever smelled before." As an after thought, he added, "Plus your scent and Skin's". He didn't mention the crisp scent that the air held, usually indicative of laser fire. There was also a lingering smell of burnt flesh, though he couldn't identify whose. "You sure you don't remember anything about what happened?"

"Nada". A pause, then, "You can still smell Ange?"

"Yeah," he said, giving her a concerned look.

Jubilee seemed to think about that for a minute, before deciding that she didn't want to dwell on that. She walked further into the residence. She saw more evidence of tampering – the dishes were all washed and put away, the trash had been taken out – and it seemed to her that someone had gone through a lot of trouble to make everything look normal. She just wished she remembered what they were covering up. In her room, the bed was made, her pillows had been fluffed, and her clothes had been hung neatly in her tiny closet. Even her laundry had been done. She walked over to her closet and pulled her clothes off of their hangers, stuffing the garments in a duffle bag she found underneath her bed. The duffle bag had been with her for years. She'd used it to move from Xavier's to Snow Valley, and then from Snow Valley to LA.

That task finished, Jubilee found a pair of shopping bags tucked behind her dresser, and filled them with the contents of her dresser drawers. She discovered that she didn't have enough room for everything that she wanted to bring with her, and almost began crying in frustration before it occurred to her that there were garbage bags in the kitchen that she could use. Leaving her room, she found Logan exploring her small apartment. He'd helped himself to one of Ange's beers from the refrigerator.

"Need any help, darlin'?" he asked her.

"Not really. Just deciding what to take and what not to take. Can't take more than we can carry".

"Don't worry about it," he reassured her, "I rented a Jeep. Think that'll hold most of your stuff?"

"Umm...yeah, that should be fine. Thanks, Wolvie," answered Jubilee, who, though grateful for her friend's help, was having a difficult time imagining him doing something as mundane as visit a car rental company. "I don't have much more, just a few bags full, really," she continued, digging under the sink for the containers she needed. Soon, she gathered up her findings and headed back towards her room. Logan followed. He stood in her doorway, leaning against the frame, as she filled two of the garbage bags with her remaining clothes and shoes. He would have offered his help, but he knew that it was not needed. This was something that Jubilee had to do on her own.

Jubilee took down the few pictures scattered across her wall, and Logan couldn't help but notice how she avoided looking at them, as if dwelling on them could trigger unwanted memories, and placed them gingerly in a pile. From under her bed, she pulled the shoebox that contained most of her important papers, such as her state ID and social security card. She placed the box at the bottom of one of the paper bags, and then put the pictures on top of it. Into the other paper bag, she placed several books that she had accumulated. Reading had never been her strong point, so her personal library was rather small. Finally, she pulled his old cowboy hat from her bedpost and placed it on top of one of the bags. The hat was slightly singed from the fire that had consumed most of her possessions, but it was still intact.

Once she had finished, Jubilee stood up and looked around the room, checking for any items that she may have neglected to pack. Finding none, she picked up the remaining bags and made her way to Angelo's room.

His door had been closed when she entered the apartment, preventing her from seeing the interior of the room. Her breath caught as she opened the door. Nowhere was the evidence of tampering more obvious than in Angelo's bedroom. Ange's floor, which was always covered with dirty clothes and God knew what else, was bare. She looked at his carpeting, which was beige and badly stained, and realized that this was the first time she'd seen it since shortly after they'd moved in. Looking closer, she realized that it had even been vacuumed. Angelo's clothes were hung in his closet. His action figures had been arranged on his windowsill, and his bed was made. The room's transformation shook Jubilee to the core, but she managed to keep herself under control.

That was, of course, until she looked at the empty wall space above Ange's dresser. Once, an old corkboard had hung there. He had purchased it at a yard sale on his way back from work. It was tucked away in his room, forgotten for weeks until one night, while suffering from insomnia, Angelo had pinned, taped, and glued a menagerie of pictures and letters to it. The board was overcrowded, as well as battered, but Ange had been proud of his accomplishment. Jubilee understood why. He'd basically taken everything that had contributed to making him the person who he was and displayed it in a colorful story of his life. That board _was_ Angelo Espinosa.

Except that someone had thought that it was too messy. The board, along with its contents, was gone. Jubilee scanned the room, hoping that it had been moved, but she saw no trace of it. It was the only thing of Ange's that she'd come in here to retrieve, and it was gone.

Jubilee didn't cry. She had no inclination towards tears. Instead, she felt herself fill with rage. Rage at the killers, the Church of Humanity. Rage at Angelo, for leaving her. Rage at herself, for allowing it all to happen. Rage at the X-men, for bringing her back and forcing her to deal with everything that had happened. Rage at Logan for the worried look her was casting her way. Rage at Bobby for, well, just for being Bobby. Rage, rage, rage. She felt like she was going to explode.

And then she did.

Or, to be more accurate, Angelo's dresser did as her pyrotechnics flew unbidden from her hands. Over time, she'd gotten better at controlling her mutant gift when she was under emotional stress. Now, she hadn't even been aware that her power had been activated until the sound of the dresser bursting into splinters jarred her from her angry thoughts.

Jubilee frowned at her loss of control, then cast an defiant look at Logan, as if daring him to say something about the incident. He, of course, just met her glare with a steady look, his expression inscrutable.

"Feel better?" he finally asked.

Jubilee opened her mouth to respond, a sharp retort on the tip of her tongue. However, she stopped in the middle of the action as a realization came to her. Then, giving Logan a bemused expression, she replied, "You know what? I do".

"Great. Come on, let's get some chili fries," Logan suggested. When Jubilee replied to his offer by raising an eyebrow, he added, "My treat".

"Awesome! Will you spring for extra cheese? And milkshakes? Ohh, and maybe a pretzel?" she asked excitedly.

"I'm gonna regret making that offer, aren't I, darlin'?"

"Probably," she grinned. "Let's go!"

The duo gathered up the remainder of Jubilee's possessions. At the door, Jubilee turned to examine her former home one last time. She felt the urge to cry, but resisted. Logan, perhaps understanding how she felt, placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Ready?" he asked.

She inhaled loudly before replying, "Yeah," said Jubilee as she flipped the light switch located on her right side, extinguishing the main source of illumination. The apartment was bathed in darkness. "Yeah, I'm ready," she repeated, as she closed the door to her apartment and on a chapter of her life.


	18. Chapter 18

By the time that Logan and Jubilee returned from their sojourn to her apartment, the sun was already setting. Jubilee, as usual, had not noticed the progression of time, and Logan wasn't about to point it out to her. He planned to stay with her until the plane departed tomorrow, morning, if she needed it. Sparing a glance at his young companion, he saw her stifle a yawn. Moments later, she yawned again, this time making no effort to hide it. Logan smiled a rare smile. His girl had had a long day. It stood to reason that she was tired. A nice long rest was just what she needed, he decided. The conversation between them had stilled, mostly, he now realized, due to Jubilee's fatigue.

"You know, Wolvie," Jubilee said suddenly, breaking the silence as they arrived at the elevator. "I didn't realize how tired I was". It was uncanny how the she had tuned into what he was thinking.

He smiled. "You've had a long day, darlin'," he responded.

"Yeah," she responded quietly, getting into the elevator, "I guess so. I think I'm just going to go straight to sleep when I get upstairs".

"There's an idea," he told her, while eying a man occupying the elevator with him. The man, a middle aged guy dressed in a polo shirt and shorts, couldn't stop himself from staring at Logan and Jubilee. From the look he was giving them, it was clear to Logan that he was trying to figure out the relationship between them. Logan felt anger rising, but forced himself to calm down. The guy might be a sleaze, but he hadn't done anything to warrant getting skewered at the end of six adamantium claws – well, nothing that Logan knew of, at any rate. Plus, Logan was with Jubilee, who'd had enough excitement for one day. She didn't need anything more to deal with. So Logan just settled with giving the guy a look. One of his patented "keep it up and you'll be mopping your guts up with a towel" looks. The guy started to look nervous. His head, as bald as Xavier's, began to glisten with beads of sweat.

"Yeah, I think I'll be out as soon as my head hits the pillow," continued Jubilee, unaware of Logan's divided attention.

"Good. That'll be good for you," he responded automatically, not taking his eyes off of the bald man. Baldy, meanwhile, began to look around, focusing his gaze anywhere but towards Logan. However, Logan could tell, by the man's shallow breath and ever increasing heart rate, not to mention the scents he was catching, that the man knew that Logan's gaze had not been turned away.

The elevator opened on floor number eight, although Logan had observed him hit the button for floor fifteen, the bald man made a hasty retreat.

"What time are we leaving tomorrow?" asked Jubilee, who had yet to notice anything unusual.

"Scotty boy wants us to be back at the mansion by three. Think we were planning on taking off at about eleven".

"So I can sleep in?" she asked.

"As long as you need to," he replied. The elevator doors opened on floor number twelve, where Jubilee's room was located, and the duo exited. When they reached her door, they hesitated.

"Do you want me to come in?" asked Logan after a minute of silence.

Jubilee paused to consider this. Finally, she responded, "Nah, I'll be good. You go enjoy your last night in LA."

"You sure? I'll stay, if you want," he offered, one last time.

"I'm sure," she smiled. "I'll see you later, okay?" Jubilee leaned over and hugged him. "Thanks. You know. For today."

"Yeah, no problem," he said, giving her a kiss on the forehead, then releasing her. "You have a good night, darlin'," he said, turning toward the elevator.

"Yeah, you too," she said as she opened the door to her room and went in. The words were mumbled and almost inaudible, but she knew that his sharp hearing would pick them up. "Good night," she said, closing the door behind her. Moments later, she heard the elevator beep, signaling its arrival on her floor.

Jubilee looked around her empty room. The hotel cleaning service had hit the room while she was out. There were new towels in her bathroom, topped off with new hotel sized bottles of shampoo and bars of soap. There was a new bag of complimentary hotel coffee next to the coffee maker on the table. But what really caught Jubilee's attention were the newly made beds. Of course, Paige had not spent last night in their room. She had returned to shower and prepare herself for the funeral just as Jubilee was gathering the energy to get out of bed. Judging by the untouched cleanliness of the room, Paige had not returned. Jubilee surmised that she was spending the night in Warren's room. Again.

Jubilee shrugged to herself. Having a giant sized hotel room to herself had its perks. Now Warren had to deal with Paige, Jubilee mused as she put on a pair of cotton pajama pants and an old T-shirt. No, that wasn't right. Warren and _Bobby_ would have to deal with Paige, she corrected herself as she slid into bed. Bobby was Warren's roommate, after all.

Poor Bobby, she thought as she drifted off to sleep, for once without any difficulty.

Bobby turned over in his bed for what seemed like the millionth time that night. No matter how well he burrowed beneath the covers or hid his head under his pillow, he couldn't block out Paige and Warren. At the moment, they were sitting on Warren's bed, talking. Like they'd been doing for the past three hours, and like they'd done for a good part of last night. He supposed that it could be worse. There were lots of other things they could be doing, after all. Still, he wanted to sleep.

He turned over again, wishing that he'd brought his MP3 player, so he could at least drown them out with music. Of course, he hadn't been that smart. He heard Paige giggle loudly in response to some story that Warren had told her.

After another half hour of whispers and giggles, he'd had enough. Bobby sat up, reaching towards the nightstand for his wallet and keys.

"Bobby, are you okay?" asked Paige.

"Fine, I'm just fine. I need some air, is all," Bobby grumbled as he got out of bed.

"You're leaving?" asked Warren.

"What's it look like?" asked Bobby, "accidentally" bumping into the dresser that Paige had placed her purse on top of.

"Umm, okay. Just knock before you come back in."

Ewww, thought Bobby, making a mental point not to return to the room unless it was a dire emergency. He wasn't planning on returning until early morning anyway. The gears in his head turned as he planned revenge against Paige.

Shortly thereafter, anyone who happened to be awake could have looked out of a window facing the hotel's parking lot and seen a young man of medium height and medium build dressed in flannel pajama bottoms and a T-shirt hopping into what looked like a rental car, and driving away. Had that person kept staring out of said window, he would have observed the same man returning 15 minutes later, holding a plastic shopping bag.

Upon entering the hotel, Bobby checked the number on the plastic key card that he had taken from Paige's purse on his way out. 1209 was written on it in bold black letters. Bobby entered the elevator and pressed number 12 on the keypad. The 12th floor was deserted when he got there. Not surprising, considering the late hour. Bobby followed the arrows on the walls and made his way to room 1209, where he inserted the keycard. The light above the slot turned green, and he opened the door.

The room was dark, but Bobby refused to turn the light on, afraid that Paige's roommate, whoever that was, would wake up. Instead, he waited patiently for his eyes to adjust to the dark before he made his way towards the bathroom. Once there, he closed the door behind him and finally turned on the light. With an evil grin, he made his way towards the toilet. As quietly as he could, Bobby removed the lid that covered the tank, placing it on the floor. Then, gleefully, he opened the 20 pound bottlee of laundry detergent he had purchased. He picked up the container and proceeded to dump most of its contents into the tank before replacing its lid. Then, he dumped the remainder of the detergent into the toilet itself. He'd never pulled this particular prank before, but was hoping that, when Paige returned and flushed her toilet, a flood of suds would cascade out.

He gathered together the now empty bottle, as well as the bag that the detergent had come in, before turning off the bathroom light and opening the door. Once again, he waited until his eyes had adjusted to the lack of light before proceeding. On his way out, he noticed a bright coat draped over a chair, and finally realized who Paige's roommate was. In fact, he was angry with himself that he hadn't realized it beforehand. It made perfect sense that Jubilee would be the one rooming with Paige. Bobby felt a moment of remorse, when he realized that his prank could very well strike Jubilee instead his intended target, but he quickly dismissed the feeling. Paige was an early riser. It was likely that she'd be back before Jubilee even woke up. Plus, Jubilee was a fellow prankster. She'd understand if his prank backfired. He hoped.

He'd just made it to the door when he heard the first scream. The unexpected sound startled him, and his heart jumped. Once he'd regained his senses, he realized that Jubilee must have just woken up and seen him. However, upon turning around, he recognized that he was wrong. She was still lying in bed, as if asleep. However, she'd begun tossing and turning.

"Noooooo!" he heard her scream, "Noooooooooo!!! Don't leave me!!" Then, in a much quieter, sadder voice, she continued, "Come back!! Ange, come back!!"

Eventually, it dawned on him that she was dreaming, or more likely having a nightmare. He felt a deep pity for her when he realized whose name she had called out. They'd all wondered what effect Angelo's death had taken on Jubilee and how she was dealing with it. Apparently, she was not coping well, at least on a subconscious level. Bobby stood in place, unsure of what to do. He could just leave. That was the easy way out. She'd never know that he had been there and he could avoid the awkward situation of having to explain his presence in her bedroom at such a late hour. Or he could wake her up. However, if he did so, he would be caught red handed, since there weren't many places that he could stash his empty detergent container. Plus, he wasn't sure how Jubilee would respond to being awakened, nor how she would react to the knowledge that he had heard enough to make out what her nightmare was about.

"Ahhhhhh!!" she continued, tossing around harder this time. Although he still hadn't made up his mind about waking her up, Bobby found himself walking towards Jubilee's bed. As he approached, she screamed again and her entire body seemed to tremble. It was then that Bobby's worry for her surpassed any worry that he had about being caught in her room.

"Jubilee," he said softly, sitting down on the edge of her bed. He leaned forward and putting his hand on her shoulder. "Jubes, you're having a nightmare. Wake up".

She stopped tossing, and for a second, Bobby thought that he'd gotten through to her. Then she screamed again, louder this time.

"Bobby, nooooo!! Don't go!!"

"Jubes, wake up!" he said, louder this time. "I'm not going anywhere. It's okay, your dreaming. You need to wake up". He gave her shoulder a shake. Without warning, Jubilee shot up in bed, eyes wide open. The moonlight from her window reflected off of her face, and Bobby could see tears.

"What?? Where am I?" she asked, disoriented. "Bobby?" she asked, noticing him sitting next to her. "What are you doing here?"

"That's a good question," he replied. "I don't really have a good answer, but, y'know, whatever. Hey, hey, HEY!!" he shouted in surprise. Jubilee, instead of waiting for a response to her query, had put her arms around him and embraced him. He could feel her heart racing against his chest and hear the soft sobs getting caught in her throat.

"It's okay, Jubes. It was just a nightmare. Everyone gets them," he whispered, enfolding her in his arms.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry," she mumbled, still sobbing into his chest.

"You don't have to be sorry. It's okay. You can calm down. You're awake and everything is fine," he reassured her, pulling her into his lap, and resting his chin on the top of her head. The action was unplanned, but felt natural nonetheless. Soon Jubilee stopped sobbing; she just laid her head against him, trying to regain her composure. And while in that position, something occurred to her.

"Bobby, why is my cheek cold?"

He tensed, then, without warning, jumped up and backed away from her wearing a look of sheer horror. Since she had been sitting on his lap, which disappeared when he straightened, Jubilee found herself sprawled on the floor.

"Bobby, what the hell?" she asked as she picked herself off of the ground. She was bewildered and somewhat angry. Justifiably so, she thought.

"Umm..umm, it's nothing," he stuttered, badly flustered.

"Liar. You dumped me onto the floor over nothing? What are you hiding?" she demanded.

"Nothing," he said firmly, having regained some of his composure. "I just remembered, I promised Scott I'd help him with… umm… the X-jet. Yeah. I have to go. See ya." Not waiting to see if she bought his excuse, he hurried towards the door. As Jubilee watched him, she suddenly remembered another time when she'd felt cold coming off of his chest. She had been so tired that time, too tired to mention it. And she had forgotten the incident when she woke up. But now, her memory had been jogged, and she was sure that Bobby wasn't telling her something. She hated when people did that.

"Hey Bobby," she called after him angrily. He was almost at the door, but he stopped, like a deer caught in a pair of headlights, and turned towards her. His mouth opened slightly, and Jubilee was sure that he was going to ask her what she wanted. He never got the chance.

Her paffs flew from her hands, towards him. They exploded in front of him, before he even had a chance to ice up and defend himself.

"Hey," he shouted in fury. "What gives?" But then he knew. She hadn't hurt him, not even a small burn. She'd gained an impressive control over her gift in the last couple of years. An impressive control and precision. His T-shirt was gone, disintegrated by her mutant power, and he stood in front of her, bare-chested and exposed.


	19. Chapter 19

Okay, I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry for not updating this sooner. I guess stuff got in the way. Anyway, as always, please review, tell me what you think, etc, etc. Hopefully, there won't be as big of a break before the next chapter.

Bobby's first reaction to finding himself shirtless in front of Jubilee was fear. He had faced many dangerous opponents in his years of service with the X-men, including Magneto and Apocalypse, but never had he found himself suppressing the urge to run as strongly as he was at that moment. It wasn't like he had anywhere to go. His own room was occupied, after all. There was also the fact that he was bare-chested. He was sure that the employees of the hotel had seen stranger things than a man without a shirt wandering the floors. However, the lack of shirt revealed the icy patch that was forming on his chest, a sight which would definitely catch the attention of both hotel workers and guests. Bobby really couldn't leave the room, no matter how much he wanted to. But he did not feel ready to face its occupant. Even now, she stared at him, confused.

"What _is_ that?" Jubilee asked, squinting to get a better look. The only light in the room was generated by her paffs, which flickered and sparkled. They cast a strange, shimmering glow on their surroundings.

Jubilee's words pushed Bobby into action, serving to awaken him from the state of shock he had found himself in after she had destroyed his shirt.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he shouted at her, drawing her eyes away from his chest and towards his face. When she didn't answer, he continued, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Jubilee kept quiet, and Bobby, unsure of what else he could say, stopped yelling. He was still angry with her, but her unresponsiveness deflated his reply. He just wasn't sure how much she had figured out, and didn't want to give anything about his condition away. So he settled on just meeting her gaze.

He wasn't sure how long they stood there, just looking at each other, but eventually, Jubilee took a step forward. His stomach fluttered unpleasantly, but he held his stance. He couldn't believe that, just a few days ago, he had wished that someone _would_ find out about his secret. He'd just wanted everything to be like it had been before. Safe. But it wasn't that simple. At the moment, all he felt was terror. Jubilee continued slowly moving forward, and after a few steps, Bobby lost his nerve. He began backing up, until he felt his back touch the door. His eyes widened as he realized that he had no where else to run, while Jubilee came closer and closer.

"Listen, Jubes, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. I shouldn't have been in here anyway. Look, um, if you have a spare shirt or something I can cover up with, I'll just leave. We'll forget this ever happened, okay?" he babbled, raising his arms up to block her view of his icy chest, as well as to keep her from getting any closer. The gesture didn't work.

"What is that?" she asked again, and her voice seemed quieter than usual to him. She slowly reached towards the patch with one hand but he pushed it aside.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it. Just some left over ice. I can make it go away if I want". Crap. He hadn't meant to add that last part - wouldn't have, if he hadn't been babbling. But there were a million thoughts racing through his head, and he was panicking. His only hope was that she hadn't caught what he had said, or that she would let it slip.

No such luck. Jubilee frowned and crossed her arms in front of chest. "Fine," she said. "Do it".

"Um…sorry?" he asked, playing dumb. He doubted that it would work, but he had to try. Everything was at risk.

"Make the ice go away," she stated bluntly. Why was she doing this? Did she get some perverse pleasure out of torturing him? Couldn't she see that he didn't want to talk about it? Couldn't she see how much he wanted to keep this hidden? If only he could make the ice go away - the stupid, stupid ice that was the root of so many of his problems.

"Umm…" he began, unsure of what else to say. He couldn't think of a lie good enough to cover his butt. This was it. "Well, um, you see, the thing is, I can't," he finally said, defeated. "But, you know, it's no big deal," he added, hoping to detract from the situation.

"Then why were you trying to hide it?" she asked. He had no answer. Her hand reached for the patch once more, and this time, he didn't try to stop her. What was the use?

"Bobby," she said quietly, her voice tinged with admonition. Somehow, that made the circumstances better for him. She wasn't mad. He didn't know why he was expecting Jubilee to be angry with him, but realizing that she wasn't helped calm his emotions. A little.

"How long has it been there?" she asked, slowly running her fingers over it. He couldn't feel the gesture. He knew, somehow without looking, what her fingers were doing, but it wasn't _feeling _like anything that he was used to. The sensation was weird.

"Umm, since we fought Black Tom," he admitted, refusing to meet her gaze, although he knew that she had torn her eyes away from his mutation and was now looking at his face. He wondered if his statement had any significance to her. After all, she hadn't been an active member of the X-men when that particular battle had occurred. Had anyone even informed her of the battle, let alone when it had happened?

"And you haven't told anyone?"

"Well, Professor Xavier knows about it. And Annie".

"But no one else," she stated, pausing to give herself time to digest and process everything she was hearing. Then she asked, "Why?"

"I don't know. I just couldn't, you know?" Bobby paused, before continuing. He found that he was having a hard time keeping emotion out of his voice as he spoke. "It's like, maybe if I kept it a secret, if no one knew about it, then it wasn't really happening. Maybe I wasn't turning into this weird walking block of ice that couldn't eat, couldn't breathe, and couldn't even feel. I mean, no one knows what it is or what is going on with me. Just that it's a secondary mutation. But what am I mutating into? I'm just scared that, you know, one day I'm just going to wake up and I won't be human anymore".

Whoa. That was a lot more than he had been intending to say. As usual, once he started talking, he couldn't stop. He always said more than he meant to when he was scared or nervous. And now Jubilee was giving him a concerned look.

"Bobby, you're still human," she said softly, tracing her fingers over the line where the icy part of his chest met the flesh part. Her fingers were cold from the ice and felt strangely nice. Bobby inhaled loudly and looked down at her. Their eyes met and Bobby once again felt his stomach flutter. She was standing close to him, almost inappropriately close. Kissing distance close.

Perhaps coming to the same realization, Jubilee dropped her hand and took a step back, momentarily breaking eye contact. Although the room was dimly illuminated by her paffs, Bobby thought that she was blushing.

"Besides," she continued, "It's not like you're the only one who's ever experienced a secondary mutation. I mean, it's happened to two of your closest friends. Hank-"

"Looks like a big blue kitty cat crossbred with an ape," he interrupted. "He hates what's happened to him".

Jubilee wasn't going to argue with that. "But, he's still Hank," she continued. "And there's Warren. His secondary mutation turned out to be for the best. I mean, just having wings is pretty lame, but the ability to heal. That's amazing".

"Yeah, everything turns out great for Warren. Big surprise," Bobby spat angrily. He knew that it wasn't true, that the man had been through some very tough trials in his life, not the least of which were the loss of his wings and his tenure as a horseman of Apocalypse. But Bobby couldn't help but feel anger towards his longtime friend, whose secondary mutation turned out to be such a wonderful gift, when his own situation was much more dire.

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Warren," Jubilee reminded him. Bobby had no appropriate response, so instead remained silent. After a while, Jubilee let out a breath and moved towards the couch, which was located a few feet away from the door. The sofa was beside a table, on which sat the coffeemaker, as well as a lamp that Jubilee turned on. The sofa itself was covered with the girls' luggage, and Jubilee pushed aside a bag to make herself room to sit. Another few moments passed in silence, and then Bobby joined her. She shifted to make room for him, but the luggage took up most of the space, forcing the two of them to sit close together. They just sat there, quietly, each lost in their own thoughts.

Finally, Bobby broke the silence. "What were you dreaming about?"

Jubilee hadn't been expecting him to speak, and the question caught her by surprise. "I'm sorry?" she asked, hoping for clarification.

"When I found you," Bobby said, "what were you dreaming about?"

Oh. That. Jubilee didn't need to jog her memory much to remember the nightmare. She'd had it several times since Angelo had died, and she'd experienced similar dreams after the deaths of both Everett and her parents. Nonetheless, she didn't want to share the details of the dream with Bobby, or anyone. She was much more comfortable talking to Bobby about his problems than dissecting any of her own.

"I don't remember," she said, hoping that she sounded convincing enough.

"You were calling Angelo's name out, and you were screaming pretty loudly," he told her.

"I was?" she asked, genuinely surprised. She hadn't realized that she'd actually spoken during her dream. Perhaps it was a good thing that Paige spent so much time in Warren's room.

"Yeah. Are you okay?"

"Fine," she said with a shrug, wishing that he would just drop the topic. Once again, she mentally kicked herself for having forgotten her medication back at the mansion.

"It's just that I'm worried about you," he persisted. "I mean, first you've got that weird episode where you fell asleep on me, and now I find out that you have nightmares. I'm not trying to be a nag or anything, but I really think you should go see a doctor. Hank'll be more than happy to help you".

"No, that's okay," she said, not wanting to tell him the truth. She wasn't sure how he'd react to her taking medication for this problem.

"Jubes, I don't think you're taking this seriously enough".

"Bobby, I'm fine," she stated again, feeling her anger rising. Why was he so intent on talking about this?

"How do you know that?" he retorted.

"I just do. I've got this under control already!"

"You've got what under control?" he asked, frowning.

"The nightmares, the tiredness, all of it. I've already got them under control. Tonight was just a slip up," Jubilee told him, almost unaware that she was yelling.

"Great control," Bobby muttered sarcastically. He gave himself a couple of seconds to calm down, before continuing in a composed tone. "So, you do remember having nightmares".

Oops. Caught. "Sometimes," she admitted, looking at the floor. She didn't want her face to give anything away. "They come, they go. Like I said, it's no big. Everyone gets nightmares".

"Yeah," Bobby said slowly, and she felt his gaze on her. She refused to look up. "But here's what I've learned," he continued. "You can bottle stuff up, but it doesn't go away. It just stays in your subconscious, under pressure. Eventually, there's enough pressure, and stuff starts to spill over, especially when you don't expect it. You start seeing spillage in your mood, your work, but especially in your dreams. Because dreams are nothing but a reflection of your subconscious, right? And people like us, people who've seen, done, and experienced lots of sad and horrific things? We get lots of nightmares".

Jubilee's jaw dropped. Bobby's insight was keen. She'd never heard him sound so wise before. Goofy? Always. Mean? Once in a while. Wise? Never. In spite of her qualms, she raised her head to meet his gaze. She found it unsurprisingly focused on her.

"Sounds like you've got some experience with nightmares," she said, both in an effort to deter his questioning and because she was simply curious.

"Tons," he said, attempting to grin and failing. "The first one I remember, after joining the X-men anyway, was right after our first battle with Magneto. In my dream, he killed everyone, except for me. I couldn't stop him, I could barely defend myself".

"Oh. That is kinda scary".

"Nah. That's not the scary part. The scary part is that, since everyone, including Xavier was gone, I had to go back home. Back to the mobs and the bullies and my dad. I couldn't imagine anything scarier, especially after finally getting away and realizing that there _was_ something better out there. _That's _what made it a nightmare," he finished.

She hadn't expected him to reveal so much, and found herself momentarily speechless, considering his words. Finally, she was able to ask him, "Did you tell anybody?"

"Sort of. I had the dream at least three times. I guess that once, I projected it onto Jean, who's psi-shields weren't really strong yet. She came in to check on me. Not that she could offer more than just words of comfort, but talking about it made me feel better. Or, at least, I never had that particular nightmare again".

Silence once again descended on the duo, during which Jubilee pondered what Bobby had said.

"Bobby?" she asked several minutes later.

"Yeah?"

"I miss Angelo," she said quickly, forcing herself to get it out. Three little words, but so hard to make herself voice them.

"I know you do," he said, kindly. "Are you okay, though?"

"Ye…No," she said, coming to a realization, "No, I'm not okay. I miss him, and I want him back. I don't even know what happened, just that I woke up, far from LA, and he was gone. I don't know why, or how. He didn't do anything, but he's dead. My best friend is dead. Again".

"I miss him. I miss everyone. Ange, Ev, my parents. Everyone's dying and I'm still here. I'm scared. Scared that I might end up alone. Scared that all of this might be my fault, in some messed up way. Scared because I'm worried that something might happen to Wolvie, or Paige, or even you, and I'll have to go through everything again. Heck, according to Bishop, I'm the last X-man. I may have to go through this a lot. And I don't know if I can handle it".

He waited for a while before asking her, "Better?"

She knew that he was referring to her venting her feelings. "A little," she admitted, with a slight pout.

"Good. Besides, you won't," he assured her.

"Won't what?" she asked him.

"Be the last X-man. I'll do you a favor and let your enemies know your weaknesses. They'll do you in pretty quickly after that," he joked. There wasn't anything he could really say to ease her worries, so, in typical Bobby fashion, he was reverting to humor.

"Like you even know any of my weaknesses," she shot back, although with a smile.

"Twinkies," he stated, holding up his hand and counting on his fingers.

"Those are _your_ weak point, not mine," she pointed out.

"Fine. Not Twinkies, but sugar," he continued, "Sugar, shopping, rollerblading, watching TV, and talking on the phone. Plus, you're ticklish".

"Okay, first of all, how's that going to help _anyone_ defeat me. Plus, dude, most of my enemies are your enemies too. How are you going to get near them without getting skewered? And second of all, I'm not ticklish," she responded.

"I've got my ways of getting through to the enemies. And you, my dear, are very, very ticklish".

"Am not".

Bobby grinned in response. He reached forward and tickled her under the chin. As he predicted, Jubilee tried to get away, but there was nowhere to go because of the luggage on the couch. She was trapped, and she began to giggle. Not just because of the tickling. She was laughing at everything, the situation, their problems, them in general. Soon Bobby joined her, and that sat on the couch leaning against each other and laughing like crazy people.

"I'm going to be tickled to death!" she guffawed.

"Hey, I might freeze to death. Or end up in a mixed drink," Bobby laughed in response. It was strange how the mood had changed so suddenly, from somber to jovial, but he wasn't about to protest it. He'd spent so long fretting over the patch of ice on his chest - it was nice to finally laugh about his fears.

"We're so messed up," she said to him, once they'd begun to calm down and she could catch her breath.

"Yeah, we are," he chuckled, looking down at her. "Great, isn't it?"

She smiled in response, looking into his eyes, which were twinkling mischievously. It happened without warning. Looking back, Jubilee wasn't sure who initiated it or why. But one minute, they were sitting there, looking at each other, still laughing at themselves.

And the next minute, Bobby's lips were on hers, and they were kissing.


	20. Chapter 20

Jubilee had never put too much thought into what kissing Bobby would be like. Not that she thought he was unattractive, or undesirable, or anything of that sort. She just never thought of him that way. He was just Bobby to her. Or at least, he had been. Now, sitting on a lumpy, overstuffed and crowded couch in her hotel room, she wondered why the notion of kissing Bobby had never occurred to her. She was finding that he was very good at it.

The kiss had started off hesitantly. They'd been sitting there, laughing themselves silly, and suddenly, unexpectedly, they found themselves kissing. It occurred to Jubilee that she should probably pull away, before they did something they'd both regret. But before she could act on that thought, the realization of how much she was enjoying herself set in. She hadn't expected that. Truth be told, she wasn't experienced enough at kissing to know she could enjoy it so much. But her stomach was fluttering, and it felt like her insides were melting – in a good way. And the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she didn't want the kiss to be over. So she did the only thing that she could think of. She kissed him back.

This seemed to be some sort of a signal to him. He put his arms around her and pulled her closer. Not that he could pull her that much nearer; there was so little room on the sofa that she was practically on top of him. And he kissed her harder.

And, omigod, Bobby's tongue was in her mouth. Surprisingly, it was a nice sensation, and Jubilee let herself get lost in the experience. She didn't know how long they'd been at it before Bobby broke away. She looked at him questioningly.

"I..I'm sorry," he stammered, trying to catch his breath. "I shouldn't have. I don't know what came over me -"

"Bobby!" she said, trying to interrupt what was sure to be a declaration of regret, though not succeeding.

"-I didn't mean to just kiss you like that," he continued, oblivious to her. "I know you must be really upset -"

"Bobby!" she said again, slightly miffed at him now.

"-because it really seemed like I was taking advantage of you. I just -"

"BOBBY!" she shouted, tired of being ignored.

"Yeah?" he asked her, cringing slightly. He looked fearful, like he was expecting her to bring the roof down on him. Or, more likely, he was worried that she'd reject him.

"I'm not mad. You're not taking advantage of me, and I didn't mind," she told him, striving to be as brief as possible. He sat still for a moment, processing what she'd just said. Then, slowly, one side of his mouth went up in an endearing smile.

"You didn't mind?" he asked her, and this time, his voice was deeper and more confident.

"No," she said, her cheeks suddenly warming, "It was nice". She hadn't meant to volunteer that last part, but something about the scrutinizing look he was giving her had made her lose her bravado.

His smile widened. "Good," he told her, "Then you won't mind if I do this". And he pulled her into his lap and began kissing her again. He was right. She didn't mind.

Jubilee lost track of time, but it seemed like a while before Bobby stopped. He looked at the digital clock on her nightstand and then looked down at her. "Jubes, I have to go," he told her.

"Why?" she asked, feeling defensive. He'd sound regretful, but she couldn't help thinking that this was a bad sign. Was she doing something wrong?

He smiled, guessing in which direction her thoughts were taking her. "It's not you. I have Paige's room key. You've complained about it so much, I've caught on that Paige is an early riser, so I should probably get it back there soon".

"Oh''. A pause, then, "Why do you have Paige's key?''

"Oh. She and Warren were being annoying. I couldn't get any sleep". As an afterthought, he added, "By the way, you may not want to use your bathroom''.

''Great,'' Jubilee whined. "So that's why you were in here. What goofy prank have you pulled that I'm probably going to be blamed for?"

Bobby looked unsettled by that statement. It hadn't occurred to him that Jubilee would be blamed for his stunt. Heck, a few hours ago he wouldn't have cared. Well, not much anyway. Prankster's code - if someone else gets blamed, it means you did your job.

"Relax, willya?" she told him, reading his expression. "I'll be fine."

He didn't look very reassured. "D-"

"AH, AH, ah, ah!" she interrupted. "Don't tell me what you did. I totally do _not _want to know. Plus, it'll be easier for me to pretend being innocent of whatever it is if I actually am. _Capice?"_

"Fair enough, I guess," he finally responded. Another pause. "I should get going." He looked around. "Ummm..do you have a spare shirt?" He'd forgotten she'd destroyed his shirt. By the way her eyes widened, he guessed that she'd forgotten too. Funny how so much had changed so fast. Just a few hours ago, he would have given anything to keep the patch on his chest hidden. Now it was in plain sight and they'd both forgotten about it.

"Umm..hold on," she said, thinking. "Oh!" she exclaimed, as an idea occurred to her, "Wait here." She grabbed a baby tee from a pile of clothes stacked haphazardly on some luggage and headed for the bathroom. When she emerged seconds later, she'd changed out of her large T-shirt and had donned the smaller one. She held the shirt that she had been wearing out for him.

"It's the biggest thing that I've got," she explained. "Swiped it from Ange a while back." Then, as if feeling guilty for sharing that information, or possibly for admitting to stealing from the dead, she looked away briefly.

"I'll give it back as soon as I can," Bobby told her, realizing the importance of the T-shirt, even if she didn't. He pulled the shirt on, pausing momentarily when he realized that it smelled like Jubilee. He was surprised that it fit. Angelo had been of slight build. But, then again, he'd always worn baggy clothes.

He turned to see Jubilee leaning against an arm of the sofa, her own arms crossed over her chest, regarding him.

"Fits you better than it did Ange," she said. Bobby shrugged, unsure of how to respond. She straightened and took a step forward before stopping herself.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow," she told him.

"Yeah, I guess so," Bobby said awkwardly. He checked his pocket, making sure that both his room key and Paige's were there. They were. He reached for the doorknob, then cast one last glance at Jubilee. She seemed so lonely that his heart went out to here. He quickly crossed the space between them, leaned down and kissed her.

"Hey, I will see you tomorrow," he told her, resting his forehead against hers. She offered him a smile.

"I believe you. Go get some sleep."

"Not if Paige and Warren are still awake, I won't. But thanks anyway." He told her, opening the door.

"See. Now if you hadn't gone and done whatever the heck you did to our bathroom, you could've just spent the night on Paige's bed," she told him.

On a bed next to her all night? _Ohhh, bad idea, _he thought. Instead, he gave her a wry smile and grabbed the shopping bag containing the empty detergent bottle, so as not to leave behind evidence. "Some other time, Jubes. 'Night."

"'Night," she called after him as the door closed.


	21. Chapter 21

Jubilee, of course, found that sleep eluded her after Bobby's departure. She spent most of the remainder of the night tossing and turning, though the reason behind her insomnia was different than it had previously been. She kept thinking about what had happened between Bobby and herself. She'd enjoyed the kissing part; there was no doubt about that. But she felt that afterwards, things were awkward. Would they always be awkward? Or did it mean that something was wrong? What was she supposed to do when she saw him again? She wondered how _he'd_ act when he next saw her. If her rampant thoughts weren't doing enough to keep her awake, there was the mixture of excitement and butterflies that she felt in the pit of her stomach.

Although she couldn't tell the exact time, her room was already getting lighter when Jubilee finally drifted off to sleep. Her sleep was cut short, not by her alarm clock, but by Paige, who was working out to a Tae Bo video. Although Paige had kept the volume low as a courtesy to her roommate, Billy Blanks' words of encouragement were enough to rouse a barely sleeping Jubilee.

"Whaaa?" asked a very tired and disoriented Jubilee. "Hayseed, what the hell are you doing?"

"Working out," was Paige's short reply as she performed a rapid set of side kicks.

"Now? Doesn't this place have a gym or something?" Jubilee groused, trying to block out the noise by placing a pillow over her head.

"Didn't check," Paige panted. "Quit complaining…..don't you…..have to pack?"

Jubilee groaned and tried to fall back to sleep. After a few minutes, she gave up. Rolling out of bed reluctantly, Jubilee pulled out the faded jeans and baby tee she planned to wear that day. Once she'd changed into them, she tossed her nightclothes into her luggage and wandered around the room, grabbing anything else that belonged to her. There wasn't much. Jubilee was never really into unpacking. It just meant that there would be more work later. After tossing everything into her luggage, she sat down on the receptacle to push everything in and zipped it shut. She stood to find Paige looking at her.

"Aren't you going to fold anything?" Paige asked, seeming shocked.

"Nope," Jubilee replied, shrugging her shoulders.

Paige looked at her disbelievingly for several seconds before shaking her head. "Fine, whatever. I'm pooped. I'm hitting the shower."

Unexpected guilt washed over Jubilee as she recalled Bobby's warning about their bathroom.

"Uhh..Paige?" she said hesitantly, wondering what else she could say without incriminating Bobby. Or herself, for that matter. But Paige either didn't hear her or chose to ignore her. The bathroom door slammed shut. Jubilee, unsure about what course of action to take next, decided that dressing quickly and leaving was a good option. The only downside to that plan was that she would miss seeing exactly what Bobby had done. She had a feeling that it would be funny, to say the least.

Since Jubilee was both dressed and packed well before the scheduled departure time, a rarity if there ever was one, she decided to make her way downstairs for breakfast. It wasn't until she was crossing the hotel lobby that she realized that Bobby might be down there. Her stomach fluttered, until she glanced at the large grandfather clock to her right. Bobby? Up at this hour? Hah!!

* * *

Bobby returned to his room to find both Paige and Warren asleep. He returned Paige's room key to her purse and then collapsed onto his bed. After everything that had happened, he thought that he wouldn't have been able to fall asleep. Instead, he was asleep before his head hit the pillow. 

He awoke to sunlight on his face. Groaning, he rolled over, pulling his blanket over his eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Warren's bed was empty. The lack of giggles led him to conclude that Paige had finally left. He looked around his room. It was empty. From what seemed like far away, he could hear a shower running, which explained Warren's whereabouts.

Now that Bobby was more fully awake, he became aware of his intense desire to vacate his bladder. Warren's shower wasn't helping much in that regard. Bobby groaned again, remembering Warren's propensity for taking long baths. He wondered how long his roommate had been in the bathroom. A couple of minutes later, Bobby decided he couldn't wait any longer. He got up, threw on some clothes, and made his way to a public restroom he had noticed near the lobby. Warren had just turned the shower water off when he returned. Before Bobby had a chance to plop back down onto his bed, Warren emerged from the bathroom.

"Morning," Warren said, by way of greeting. He then started a conversation about the great view they had from their window. Bobby, who was starting to feel more awake, most likely due to his fifteen minute sojourn to the restroom, had to agree. The two men ended up in conversation with each other, eventually deciding to head down to breakfast.

* * *

The hotel breakfast was delicious. It almost made Jubilee wish that she was more of a morning person so that she could experience more like it. Almost. She filled her plate with seconds and went back to join Kurt and Logan, who'd managed to commandeer a seat before she'd arrived. Logan had given her a funny look when she'd first joined them, and then quickly regained his composure. He was, she supposed, probably surprised to see her awake so early. They spent most of the meal in small talk, until Logan suddenly excused himself, stood up, and walked away. Kurt and Jubilee exchanged confused expressions, and then looked around in an effort to spot the cause of Logan's unexpected departure.

Jubilee felt something clench in the pit of her stomach. She spotted Logan heading towards the entrance to the room, through which Bobby and Warren had just walked in. She realized, now, the real reason for the look Logan had given her. It wasn't that she was up early; it was that she'd smelled like Bobby. Or, more like she'd been making out with Bobby. She probably _really_ smelled like Bobby, since she hadn't had a chance to shower. It crossed her mind that Logan probably knew whenever any member of the team had, um, intimate contact with someone else. And, when the time came, he'd know when _she'd_ begin having, um, relations, with others. Eeeeeewwww!!! The thought almost made her want to swear off sex forever. Except that she'd heard that it was really nice.

Logan had stopped when he'd reached the two men, and then walked out of the room. Bobby followed. Jubilee quickly rose from her seat, intending to follow. Kurt grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"Best to keep our noses to ourselves," the blue mutant said gently. "This doesn't concern us."

"It concerns me," Jubilee said. Kurt's eyebrows rose and he slowly released her wrist. Jubilee could only imagine what conclusions he had drawn from that statement. Blushing, she hurried from the room, intent on finding the two men.

* * *

Bobby had no idea what was waiting for him downstairs. He hadn't put much thought into any negative consequences of what had happened between him and Jubilee last night. Accordingly, he was surprised at being approached by Logan when he and Warren arrived for breakfast. Logan stopped in front of the two men and gave Bobby a hard look.

"This way," the gruff Canadian said. He didn't wait for Bobby to acknowledge him. He merely walked out the door, as if sure that Bobby would follow.

"What did you do?" asked Warren, sounding very much like a third grader.

"Dunno," Bobby said truthfully. To his own ears, he sounded like a little kid who knew he was in trouble, but was trying to play it cool anyway. He shrugged at Warren, and, with some apprehension, walked out of the room after Logan.

The older man was waiting for Bobby in the hallway that led to the hotel gift shop. Since the gift shop would not open for another hour, the hallway was deserted. Logan started talking before Bobby could even begin to ask if everything was alright.

"What're you doin' with my Jubilee?" he growled.

Bobby felt his breath leave his body, as if someone had punched him. How had he known? Had Jubilee told Logan about last night? Did she want him to keep Bobby away from her?

"I smelled you on her," Logan added, as if he could read Bobby's mind.

Oh. And eew. Bobby took a second to collect his thoughts before responding. "We were just hanging out." He tried not to wince at how stupid that sounded. Judging by Logan's growl, Bobby wasn't the only one who thought the response was idiotic.

"Look," Bobby tried again, "I'll let you know what's going on between us as soon as I figure it out. I'm not trying to hurt her." He'd felt compelled to add the last part in order to explain himself to Logan. Then, unexplainably, he was angry. The anger was partially due to the fact that he had to explain himself to Logan. Mostly, though, he was angry that Logan thought he'd _want_ to hurt Jubilee.

"Hell," Bobby snarled with a ferocity he didn't know he had, "Whatever happens, I'd never hurt her. I _like_ her. She's great. I have no idea if she'd even be interested in a schmuck like me, but here's hoping."

Logan's expression was unreadable. The two men stood there, examining each other for several seconds. The silence was broken by a very loud throat clearing.

Jubilee had found the two X-men. "What exactly are you doing?" she asked in a tone that sounded like a cross between amusement and anger. For a second, Bobby didn't know which one of them she was talking to. A glance at Logan, however, revealed that the hairy man looked uncomfortable.

"Talking," Logan responded gruffly.

"I'll bet," said Jubilee. "Looks like a really interesting conversation."

"It's not," Bobby felt compelled to say. Ever the jokester. Both Logan and Jubilee looked at him strangely. He shrugged.

"Are you done talking?" Jubilee asked. It was clear that she was directing the question at Logan.

"For now," Logan said, after a lengthy pause. "I'll be watching you, Ice Boy." Unable to think of a clever reply that would not result in him getting skewered, Bobby kept quiet. Logan gave him a long look, than turned to leave.

That left Bobby and Jubilee alone in the hallway.

"Soo…" Jubilee trailed off, looking uncomfortable. He stared at her, aghast. She had just stood up to Logan, one of the scariest men on the planet, and had come away the winner. For that matter, so had Bobby. He didn't want to think about that too much, though. He worried his knees might start shaking if he pondered too deeply on what had just occurred between him and Logan. But Jubilee stood up to Logan regularly, and regularly won. Yet, here she was, feeling uncomfortable around him, the Human Popsicle. Girls were weird.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Bobby suggested.

"Sure," Jubilee shrugged.

They walked for a while, unsure of where to go. Small talk lead no where, eventually fading into silence. Several times Bobby caught himself reaching for her hand, but stopped himself. He didn't want to scare her. Eventually, they reached the hotel swimming pool. Bobby sat down at the edge. Hesitantly, Jubilee followed suit.

"Water looks nice," Bobby said, making another attempt at small talk while he tried to sort out what he wanted to say.

Jubilee was quiet for a moment. Then, she blurted out, "This is stupid!"

"The water? What'd it ever do to you?" Bobby quipped. Once again, his mouth seemed to have lost any connection to his brain.

"Not the water, stupid," Jubilee retorted.

"Wait, am I stupid or is the water? Are we both stupid? 'Cause I may not be the sharpest nail in the bucket, but I've gotta be smarter than chlorinated water. Give me some credit here." Again, mouth running on its own.

Jubilee rolled her eyes, although she didn't seem angry. "You know what I mean. About last night."

Bobby became serious again. "Yeah."

"So talk," she told him.

"Wait. Why am I the one who has to talk? Why don't you start?" he teased.

"'Cause I don't really know what to say. The whole thing is kinda awkward," Jubilee admitted. Her blatant honesty caught him off guard. It took him a moment to gather his thoughts again.

"I don't see why we should talk," he said at length.

"Bobby! You little-" Jubilee couldn't believe here ears. She'd never pegged Bobby as the type to do this sort of thing.

"What I mean is that I don't see what needs to be discussed," he continued, interrupting what was sure to have been an impressive tirade. "You're being such a girl about this, Jubes. I like you, I'm hoping that you like me, so what else do we need?" As he spoke he stole a sideways glance at her in order to catch her reaction to his statement. He saw her face take on a disbelieving expression.

"I'm being a _girl_ about this? Bobby, if you haven't noticed, I _am_ a girl! Dude, seriously, I need to know now if you've got any strange feelings towards guys because I really doubt that this thing will work if you do."

"Not what I meant!" he almost shouted in his defense, hoping fervently that she was teasing him.

"I know what you meant," she said, trying to wipe the smile from her face. He made it so easy sometimes. "So what now?"

"Well… we could take advantage of being alone out here," he smiled.

"And how would we do that?" she asked innocently. Bobby smiled and pulled her into his lap.

"I've got some ideas," he said, his mouth inches from hers.

"Really?" she asked, surprised by how husky her voice sounded. And then she didn't have time to think about that anymore, because Bobby's mouth was on hers again and it felt as nice now as it had last night. She turned her body so that she was straddling him. He groaned and kissed her more deeply. Jubilee got lost in the kiss. She had no way of knowing how long they'd sat there kissing before they'd heard the scream. Startled, they broke apart.

"That sounds like Paige," Jubilee mused. Realizing that it probably _was_ Paige, she looked at Bobby scathingly. "What did you do?" she asked.

"Umm… laundry detergent in the toilet," he confessed, blushing a little. "It seemed like a good idea at the time." Jubilee gave him another disbelieving look before bursting out into laughter.

"She's going to kill me," Jubilee said, although the fact that she couldn't keep the laughter out of her voice made the statement seem less dire than she'd meant for it to.

"Hey now, I wouldn't let her do that," Bobby declared, "I'd confess and then she'd just kill me."

"My hero," Jubilee said, somewhat sarcastically.

"Martyr," Bobby corrected.

"You wouldn't be a martyr. You _are_ the one responsible and therefore deserve to die," she teased.

"Well I'm glad my life is worth so little to you," he said dramatically, flinging out his arm. Jubilee giggled.

"Seriously, though," he said, "Maybe we should not be here when she comes looking for us."

"Chicken."

"Rooster. Chickens are girls. You coming?" he asked, getting up and offering her his hand. She took it and stood.

"Let's go!" They ran back into the hotel hand in hand, heading towards the nearest exit.

THE END


End file.
